Beyond the Wardrobe

We're From Finchley

2009-03-22T23:57:00.003-06:00

Susan and Peter both mentioned this (in the movie).

First when Mr. & Mrs. Beaver told them about the prophecy...

Peter: I think you've made a mistake. We're not heroes!
Susan: We're from Finchley!

And later when Aslan and Peter were talking...

Peter: Aslan, I'm not who you think I am.
Aslan: Peter Pevensie, formerly of Finchley.

According to Wikipedia, Finchley is a fairly ordinary, middle-class residential suburb of London. It would seem the Pevensies let this ordinariness dictate who they were and what they could do, regardless of prophecies and Aslan himself.

Well, Aslan doesn't have a class system.

Neither does God. He's not looking for ready-made heroes. If God asks us to do something, we really have no right to tell Him, "I can't. I'm not good enough." He is well able to help us.

Besides all that, why should where we came from (not just a location, but our whole past) affect our response to God's call? Certainly our past plays a part in who we are, but it should never stop us from obeying God and becoming what He would have us be.

Not Quite Home

2009-03-02T13:57:00.002-07:00

I think I just lived Narnia. Only I traveled via Air Canada as opposed to a wardrobe. My friends were humans, not fauns and centaurs. There wasn't much snow and there wasn't any war, but in spite of the differences, I think I understand the Pevensies a little better now.

Nothing here in Canada changed during my three week absence, but nothing feels quite the same as it did when I left.

Oregon, though not a completely different world, wasn't my home when I arrived there. But I found a place for myself there swiftly.

Now I'm back where I came from, where I've always been... and finding my place here is proving to be somewhat elusive.

Is this a little taste of how the Pevensies felt?

An Expression of His Mind

2009-02-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

The creation story of Narnia beautifully parallels the creation story in the Bible. Aslan created a world out of nothing with a song. God spoke our world into existence.

Think about this...

With an unspeakable thrill, she felt quite certain that all the things were coming (as she said) "out of the Lion's head". When you listened to his song you heard the things he was making up: when you looked round you, you saw them.

The world of Narnia was the visible expression of Aslan's thoughts. Our world is an expression God's thoughts.

I am an expression of God's thoughts. To me, that's a pretty powerful idea. This means that I have a responsibility to live in a way that expresses HIM. Not just my personality and preferences, but HIS.

Just a thought for y'all.

Surprises

2009-02-02T22:57:00.005-07:00

With Aslan... expect the unexpected. He never did the predictable, logical thing. Not once.

He had a boy lead his army.
He died for someone who refused to believe in him.
He came back to life.
Only to leave again... because he's not tame.
He used small, supposedly weak, armies to defeat the great.
And small, supposedly weak, people to lead.
He chose ways and means of accomplishing his purposes that caught everyone off guard.

I don't want a God who fits in my pocket. Not even a God who fits my wildest imaginations. Sometimes--and only for a little while--I wish God would let me arrange a few things. But when I look back on the surprises He's given me in the past, I know I'd much rather live the adventure He's planned for me than try to come up with something on my own.

On Forgiveness & Humility

2009-01-15T20:02:00.003-07:00

They are related, you know. In order to truly forgive or be forgiven, we must be humble. As the forgiven, we are faced with our own shortcomings and we need to acknowledge them. As the forgiver, we must be gracious, realizing that we ourselves fail just as easily. Look at Bree...

"Slavery is all I'm fit for. How can I ever show my face among the free Horses of Narnia?--I, who left a mare and a girl and a boy to be eaten by lions while I galloped all I could to save my own wretched skin!"
"We all ran as hard as we could," said Hwin.
"Shasta didn't!" snorted Bree. "At least he ran in the right direction: ran back. And that is what shames me most of all. I, who called myself a war horse and boasted of a hundred fights, to be beaten by a little human boy!"
"I know," said Aravis. "I felt just the same. Shasta was marvelous. I'm just as bad as you, Bree. I've been snubbing him and looking down on him ever since you met us. But I think it would be better to stay and say we're sorry than to go back to Calormen."

Better... yes. Easier... not usually. Anything requiring the humbling of ourselves is not generally easy.

"My good Horse, you've lost nothing but your self-conceit."

And that's something we all ought to lose. Finding out we're not "all that" isn't especially fun. Remembering that we're just as prone to failure as the one who wronged us knocks us off the pedestal of self-righteousness. And you know, that's where we should be.

Taking Too Long

2009-01-02T19:21:00.003-07:00

I'm obviously not a Narnian purist if I'm about to blog about something that's in movie, but not in the book.

Peter, in the train station...

"How long does he expect us to wait?"

And at Aslan's How...

"I think we've waited long enough."

It would seem Peter and I share a common fault. God's not doing what I think He ought to do? Well, He must have forgotten about me. So I'll just go ahead and do it myself.

Peter tried that. The result?A lot of needless death. A huge loss for the Narnians.

So maybe my running ahead doesn't yield such dramatic results as this. But still... how can my attempts to take over God's job possibly produce GOOD results? They never have yet... but I keep trying. Really, I have no business rebuking Peter for his actions. I do the same thing.

Home at Last

2008-12-18T20:47:00.002-07:00

"I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this. Come further up, come further in!"

~Jewel

There you are--my absolute favorite part of the Chronicles (other than that it means I've come to the end of my favorite series of books).

If anything ever made me not dread death, this is it. Even those involved in the train accident had known no fear, but excitement.

Death is not an end, nor is it something to dread. It is a homecoming; a fulfillment. I will go to the place I have longed for and been created for.

It is a beginning.

Between His Paws

2008-12-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

In the middle of a battle, with a certain death before them...

"Courage, child: we are between the paws of the true Aslan."

~Tirian

All around Jill and Tirian was a raging battle. They knew that they would soon die, either by the sword or by being thrown into the stable. And what lay beyond that door they could not possibly know.

Still, knowing that they were between Aslan's paws gave them courage to face whatever came their way.

Wow.

I wish I could face life with that kind of courage. I should be able to. After all, I have the same assurance. I am in the hands of the true God.

Don't Forget That He's Good

2008-12-08T19:16:00.002-07:00

I didn't notice this the first time I read The Last Battle. Actually, I only noticed it listening to the radio theater. At the beginning of The Last Battle King Tirian and Jewel hear rumors that Aslan is in Narnia. Roonwit the Centaur warns them that it cannot possibly be true.
Jewel and Tirian remind themselves that it is "said in all the old stories that He is not a tame lion." Over and over, as they hear more and more of "Aslan's" doings in Narnia, they remind themselves that He is not tame.

If only they would have remembered that He is good. They would have realized that the terrible things going on in Narnia could not be traced back to Aslan. Both parts--"not tame" and "good"--are essential to Aslan's character.

Just as love and justice are essential to God's.

No Bargains

2008-12-07T13:03:00.003-07:00

Digory, for all his failings, was really rather a bright lad. Here is one of his wisest moments...

"Son of Adam," said Aslan. "Are you ready to undo the wrong that you have done to my sweet country of Narnia on the very day of its birth?"
"Well, I don't see what I can do," said Digory. "You see, the Queen ran away and--"
"I asked, are you ready," said the Lion.
"Yes," said Digory. He had had for a second some wild idea of saying "I'll try to help you if you'll promise to help about my Mother," but he realized in time that the Lion was not at all the sort of person one could try to make bargains with.

God is not to be bargained with. I don't obey "if _____________." Now, Digory presented his problem to Aslan. Not as a condition for his obedience, but because he had a hunch that Aslan could help. The gifts God gives His children are not bargaining tools. They are gifts. We do not make requests of our Father as part of a bargain. We ask because we know He is able to help us in all things.

Oh, and get this...

"Yes sir," said Digory. He didn't know how it was to be done but he felt quite sure now that he would be able to do it.

Where on earth do we get the idea that when God asks something of us, we need to understand the working out thereof? I mean, if you think about it, that's no different from saying that He needs our advice on working out His plan. This is not the case. If God gives a command, He knows how it will be carried out. He will provide what is needed to do so.

Just one more thought...

God asks us if we are willing. Not if we are able. Whether we think we are able is not the issue--the ability is up to God.

What Do You See?

2008-12-05T20:20:00.002-07:00

The longer and more beautifully the Lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring. Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. Uncle Andrew did. He soon did hear nothing but roaring in Aslan's song. Soon he couldn't have heard anything else even if he had wanted to. And when at last the Lion spoke and said, "Narnia awake," he didn't hear words: he heard only a snarl.

I wonder how often our preconceived notions about God and what we think He ought to be doing cause us to miss out on some blessing or miracle. Uncle Andrew was convinced a lion should not be singing; indeed, was incapable of singing. He was unable to understand Aslan's words or find beauty in his song.

What about those times when I think, "God, You shouldn't be allowing this. This can't be right." Am I blinding myself to a possible blessing? More importantly, am I failing to learn something God wants to show me about Himself?

Part of the Plan

2008-11-19T19:17:00.003-07:00

That Cor (Shasta) should save Archenland was part of a plan. As I wrote last week, everything that happened on the journey was part of a plan. But Aslan's plan went back a lot farther. Back to Cor's infancy...

"As soon as he saw Corin and me, it seems this Centaur looked at me and said, 'A day will come when that boy will save Archenland from the deadliest danger in which ever she lay.' So of course my Father and Mother were very pleased. But there was someone present who wasn't. This was a chap called the Lord Bar... As soon as he heard I was going to save Archenland from a great danger he decided I must be put out of the way. Well, he succeeding in kidnapping me...
"Bar had given me to one of his knights and sent us both away in the ship's boat. And that boat was never seen again. But of course that was the same boat that Aslan pushed ashore at the right place for Arsheesh to pick me up."

In Cor's own words, Aslan seems to be at the back of all the stories. Even at the back of this kidnapping. Aslan knew all along how it would happen that Cor would save Archenland. The kidnapping and the years in Calormen were not a surprise to him.

God is never early or late or mixed up. If anyone is, it is I. So what if I have a plan? What is that compared to God's? He sees all things from before the beginning to eternity--who am I to think that I, with my 20-odd years behind me and a future I can't foretell before me, can come up with a plan that's better than His?

It's absurd. Think about it. It makes me feel kind of... small. Presumptuous. Foolish.

And strangely safe.

I Was the Lion

2008-11-12T21:57:00.003-07:00

"I was the lion..."

...the lion who chased, comforted, protected, and guided further back than Shasta could remember.

In the same way, I can always be assured of God's presence with me. Whatever happens, God is there. When I feel alone, like life has no meaning, like everything is going wrong, God is there. The thought amazes me.

As Shasta heard his story from Aslan, he saw the events of his past from a different perspective. The situations that had seemed like hindrances or had been just plain frightening now had places in an actual plan. Everything had a purpose and there was a strong, loving hand behind it all.

Not being able to understand the purpose behind my circumstances does not alter the fact that God does still have a purpose. Not being able to feel God's presence does not alter the fact that God is still there.

So...

When life is difficult and God feels far away, look back! Seeing how God has worked in the past assures me that He will do so again.

Marshwiggle Wisdom

2008-11-01T22:49:00.000-06:00

Puddleglum, for all his depressing ways and speeches, had a lot of wisdom and common sense.

"There are no accidents. Our guide is Aslan; and he was there when the giant king caused the letters to be cut, and he knew already all things that would come of them, including this."

Nothing is an accident. Somehow or other, God works all things together in His plan. Even if it looks pointless, painful, or simply absurd... it is part of a plan.

"Aslan didn't tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do."

I guess that's the way obedience works. God says, "Go." He doesn't always say, "This is what's going to happen." My obedience is not dependent on circumstances or possible results.

"Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things--trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the real world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia."

I think I'll feel like cheering every time I read this. Three cheers for Puddleglum!

No Other Stream

2008-10-27T23:04:00.000-06:00

"Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion.
"I'm dying of thirst," said Jill.
"Then drink," said the Lion.
"May I--could I--would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realised that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience...
"Will you promise not to--do anything to me, if I do come?" said Jill.
"I make no promise," said the Lion...
"I daren't come and drink," said Jill.
"Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion.
"Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then."
"There is no other stream," said the Lion.

From a conversation I had a some time ago..I think it helped me see the "wildness" of Jesus. He made no promises of comfort or that I'd always be able to make sense of things or that I'd always LIKE things... but He made me know that I needed Him, whether I understood His ways or not. Jill knew she needed the water, but Aslan made her no promises--only pointed back to her need.

Jesus is the only one who can quench our thirst, but trusting Him is not a guarantee of comfort or safety (in the sense of an easy, predictable life). We can spend our lives searching for another way to quench the thirst, but never find it... or we can drink from HIS stream and take the risk.

Courage

2008-10-22T12:54:00.007-06:00

"Her majesty is in the right," said Reepicheep. "If we had any assurance of saving her by battle, our duty would be very plain. It appears to me that we have none. And the services they ask of her is in no way contrary to her Majesty's honour, but a noble and heroical act. If the Queen's heart moves her to risk the magician, I will not speak against it."

As no one had ever known Reepicheep to be afraid of anything, he could say this without feeling at all awkward. But the boys who had all been afraid quite often, grew very red. None the less, it was such obvious sense that they had to give in."If I were addressing peasants or slaves," he said, "I might suppose that this suggestion proceeded from cowardice. But I hope it will never be told in Narnia that a company of noble and royal persons in the flower of their ag turned tail because they were afraid of the dark."

"But what manner of use would it be ploughing through that blackness?" asked Drinian.
"Use?" replied Reepicheep. "Use, Captain? If by use you mean filling our bellies or our purses, I confess it will be no use at all. So far as I know we did not set sail to look for things useful but to seek honour and adventures."
* * *
"This," said Reepicheep, "is where I go on alone."
...Then he bade them good-bye, trying to be sad for their sakes; but he was quivering with happiness.

Ah, Reepicheep... the noble, the courageous, the chivalrous. The one who deemed adventure and discovery far more important than safety and comfort. A bit cocky at times, perhaps, but loved and admired just the same.

What would life be like if I were like Reepicheep, with such a longing for my True Country that obstacles in this world were nothing but "momentary afflictions"?

New Clothes

2008-10-15T20:26:00.003-06:00

"Then the lion said... you will have to let me undress you. I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat on my back to let him do it.
"The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off."

"After a bit the lion took me out and dressed me--"
"Dressed you. With his paws?"
"Well, I don't exactly remember that bit. But he did it somehow or other: in new clothes--the same I've got on now, as a matter of fact."

I know, I know... I have too many favorite parts in the Narnian Chronicles. But this one really is a favorite too.

I WAS THERE. Eustace's story? It's mine too. I knew there was no way in the world I could make myself right with God. Thanks to His grace, I have been forgiven. My sin is paid for.

Not only that, He gave me new clothes--I'm clothed in righteousness. He gave me a new Home, a new position as His daughter, a new heart. Everything new.

Wow.

Following Aslan

2008-10-13T20:56:00.005-06:00

Lucy woke out of the deepest sleep you can imagine, with the feeling that the voice she liked best in the world to hear had been calling her name.

I wonder how many times I've missed God's voice. How many times I've mistaken it for something else. Is His the voice I most like to hear, or do I ignore Him and listen to other voices around me?

"But it wasn't my fault anyway, was it?"

"I couldn't have left the others and come up to you alone, how could I?"

"You mean that it would have turned out all right--somehow? But how? Please Aslan! Am I not to know?"

"But they won't believe me!"

Sounds a lot like me. It's not always easy or pleasant to accept responsibility. It's not easy to go on alone when everyone else goes another way--and they seem to have a good reason for doing so. It's easy to look back and regret things, wishing for a chance to do them over. It's easy to make excuses when what God asks seems too difficult.

But just like the breath of Aslan gave Lucy new strength, the presence of God within me helps me to go forward. No matter what anyone else sees, I must continue to follow Him. After all, I really won't ever be alone.

Alive

2008-10-10T00:36:00.003-06:00

I really love the scene where Aslan breathes life back into the statues in the White Witch's courtyard.More often than not, white represents good and black evil. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe this is not the case. The Witch is white, the statues are white, the land of Narnia itself was white--deathly white.

Then Aslan came. And with him, color and vibrance and LIFE. As he breathed on the statues, streaks of color spread over them and white marble became living, colorful creatures until the courtyard "looked no longer like a museum; it looked more like a zoo."

Playing With Aslan

2008-10-09T18:03:00.000-06:00

All throughout the book we hear about how Aslan is good, but not tame. This romp with Susan and Lucy is one of my favorite parts in the book for that reason. He's so approachable, yet powerful. So playful, yet fearsome.

It was such a romp as no one has ever had except in Narnia; and whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy never could make up her mind...
"And now," said Aslan, "to business. I feel I am going to roar. You had better put your fingers in your ears."
And they did. And Aslan stood up and when he opened his mouth to roar his face became so terrible that they did not dare look at him.

If any part of the book makes me wish I were really there, it's this part.

More Thoughts on Edmund

2008-10-08T17:19:00.003-06:00

Some of my favorite quotes from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe are about Edmund and Aslan...

But Edmund had got past thinking about himself after all he'd been through and after the talk he'd had that morning. He just went on looking at Aslan. It didn't seem to matter what the Witch said.

WOW. This not-so-long-ago traitor is showing some real wisdom. When we're looking at Jesus, why should anything else make a difference? Never mind myself. Never mind Satan's lies. Never mind the circumstances. Just look at Jesus.

"There is no need to talk to him about what is past."

THIS is forgiveness. I am eternally grateful for God's forgiveness which casts my sin into the depths of the sea. They are gone. He has forgotten. I am forgiven.

Frozen

2008-10-02T19:28:00.002-06:00

The first half or more of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is really almost chilling. Think about it.

We are escorted into a world of snow and cold... not just a few months of winter either. Year upon year of winter. This world is frozen. Lifeless.

Anyone who dared stand against the power behind this long winter was turned to stone. Lifeless.

Then there's Edmund. He didn't stand against the White Witch, but her coldness had an effect on him just the same. He was already sullen and nasty... he became a traitor. He lacked love and kindness. Lifeless.
Our world isn't that much different. No, we don't have century-long winters (not even here in Canada!). We don't live in fear of being turned into a statue. But there's a world of Lifeless people walking around. People who have not met the Great Lion of Judah and have not been made truly Alive in Him.

Chilling, really.

Wardrobes & Waiting

2008-09-25T23:01:00.004-06:00

Warning: Sometimes reading the Narnian Chronicles makes me ask questions that don't necessarily have to do with Narnia. This is one of those cases.
Why did the wardrobe only work sometimes? Why did Lucy get in the first time, but not the second time with her siblings? Why did she and Edmund get in the next time, and all four the time after that?When I asked myself that question yesterday, it started me thinking along a completely different line.

Why do I sometimes have to wait for God's blessings?

Why is God's timing so vastly different from my own?

Why are certain things good and right only at certain times?

These questions have what my friend calls "cookie cutter answers". I know those and I've heard them many times. But God doesn't really owe me what I might call "real" answers. His plans are better than mine. His timing is best. Even when I don't understand.

Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you... Blessed are all those who wait for Him. ~Isaiah 30:18

Who REALLY Deserves the Lecture?

2008-09-24T21:08:00.005-06:00

I'm probably not the only one who has given Edmund advice.

Don't listen to her, Edmund. Don't take her Turkish Delight. Get out of that sledge as fast as you can and don't say another word to her. She's lying. She's cruel. She's evil.OOPS. Who am I to talk?

Don't do that, Teresa. You'd be better off if you didn't. Don't believe that, Teresa. You know it's not true. Leave that behind, Teresa. There's something better.

Listening to the wrong voices--and ignoring the Right One--doesn't do anyone any good. Not Edmund, and not me.

Allegory... or Not?

2008-09-22T19:42:00.004-06:00

My brother and I have had more than one discussion on the topic. I'm inclined to think both sides of these discussions have elements of truth.

"You are mistaken when you think that everything in the books 'represents' something in this world. Things do that in The Pilgrim's Progress, but I'm not writing in that way. I did not say to myself, 'Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia.' I said, 'Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as He became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen.' If you think about it, you will see that it is quite a different thing."

And yet...

"I'm so thankful that you realized the 'hidden story' in the Narnian books. It is odd, children nearly always do, grown ups hardly ever."

A final quote...

"He [the author] cannot even be sure that the meaning he intended it [the book] to have was in every way, or even at all, better than the meaning which readers find in it."

All I have to say is this... allegory or not, the Narnian Chronicles speak to me on a far deeper level than merely as a story. It would seem that C.S. Lewis's beliefs were so much a part of him that they could not be separated from his writing, whether it was fantasy or theology.

Friendship

2008-09-19T17:15:00.005-06:00

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another,

"What! You too? I thought I was the only one!"
C.S. Lewis

Beginnings

2008-09-18T15:24:00.000-06:00

Last night it occurred to me that the beginning of my Narnian adventure was somewhat similar to Lucy's--after all, we both paid Narnia two brief visits before sticking around for a while.

My brother had read the books before and pestered me about it. "Oh, Teresa, you have to read these books. They are so awesome." Two years ago I gave in. I tried, I really did, but I found The Magician's Nephew to be rather dull. There was no way I was going to be able to enjoy it, so I gave up. Thus ended my first all-to-hasty visit.

This spring, some friends invited us over to watch a movie--I had no idea what we'd be watching. I'll admit that I was more than a little skeptical when I saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe lying on the coffee table, but I didn't say anything and sat down prepared for... well, I don't know what I was expecting. Just that I didn't get it. I had not expected to see myself in a movie about talking animals and made-up worlds, neither did I think it possible that a movie could speak to me so distinctly about things I'd been dealing with in my own life. Thus passed my second visit.

A week later I still couldn't get the things I'd seen out of my mind. It was time to give the books another try. And this time, I knew I'd stick around for the whole Narnian adventure.

Honorary Narnian

2008-09-17T20:17:00.003-06:00

My brother to my mom:

"She talks like she's actually been to Narnia. It's kind of creepy."

What he didn't know was that he was paying me a compliment and giving me an idea. This blog is the result. As I read the books for the first time this spring, I felt as though I had been to Narnia.

Maybe Ryan wasn't as far out in his observation as he thought.