Lessons from the Lion

Inspired by the Prince Caspian movie that came out earlier this summer... which I thought was really well done and enjoyable despite not sticking strictly to the book... I decided to re-read the Chronicles of Narnia. Besides just enjoying the books themselves, I found that some of C.S. Lewis' indirect theology speaking to me pretty powerfully. Here are some of the things that stood out from the series:

• "He is not a tame lion." This gets said periodically about the lion Aslan, the God figure in the books. In other words, you can't control him or predict how he will respond to things. He can't be manipulated, persuaded or even defined the way you may want to. His ways, timing, and modes of relating don't follow any patterns that you're used to. Life with him is exciting and powerful, but also overwhelming.
• "No one is told any story but their own." In almost every book, one of the characters asks Aslan why one of their friends gets treated differently or experiences different things than they do, sometimes out of concern or genuine confusion, but often because things feel unfair or hard for themselves. The answer is always the same from Aslan, that he will only tell them their story, not anothers. And even their own story doesn't always get explained until later on. I found that really profound. I ask God "why" a lot and can easily get caught up in comparison with others. Having my focus just be on what God wants to say and do with me alone is a discipline I don't always have.
• The Last Battle. All 7 books chronicle some kind of struggle, quest or battle, often against what might be considered "forces of evil", but sometimes just against people who are broken and selfish. The characters encounter danger, sometimes that they have brought on themselves, but even more often that gets thrust upon them. Lewis mentions centuries of peace that occur in Narnia between each of the stories, but that's not what gets chronicled. It's the struggle, the difficulties and tragedies that his characters contend with. Given what the last several years have been like, not only for me and my family but for many of the people around us, life really does feel like a struggle, sometimes against the general brokenness in the world and sometimes against the particular ways people are broken and unkind with each other. Giving up or complaining doesn't make the struggle go any better, however tempting those options might seem. But there is character and some good relationships to be gained along the way, and life after the "shadowlands" to gotten later on, if we persevere in the struggle.

While I wouldn't subscribe to everything Lewis paints in his Chronicles (the way his characters handle conflict seems very British to me... "Don't mention it, my dear"... for example.), I find his perspectives on God, what it means to be a person of character and faith, what life is like now, and what the world to come may be like to be very helpful. I'm grateful for the parables he's left us.