Since the Disney production of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" was set to come out in December of this year, I decided to read the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis in order to familiarize myself with the series. I had never read the series as a child, but I was completely blown away by these books. Although, as Lewis always stated, these books were not allegories of Christianity, the Christian themes and the Christian world-view was very obvious throughout the series.
Surprisingly, one thing that happened to me during the reading of these fiction books was that I was given a new awareness of the Kingship of Christ. In these books, Aslan the Lion symbolizes Christ [as Lewis states it, "what Christ might appear as if He chose to create a new world with talking animals" -- not a one-to-One comparison).
I have always proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Savior. I sing with the others they hymns that proclaim Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But, I guess because I grew up in a country without a king, I have never fully appreciated what royalty means in the life of a citizen of a kingdom.
But, as I read and immersed myself in the fantasy world of Narnia, I came to see how Aslan, as king of kings in that realm, ruled through guiding and directing the human kings -- never being too heavy-handed in his dealings with them, always encouraging them and disciplining them when needed, and providing for them when things were at their darkest. The always present king, the all powerful king, who all in the land of Narnia ultimately depended on for survival.
This book helped me see how Christ is King of Kings while we still have human authorities over us, whether these are kings or presidents or just our bosses in our work places. For me, this book opened my eyes to the Kingship of Christ, and I will never be the same again.
I know that with the movie coming out this year, there are going to be many, many critics of the series by C.S. Lewis: "Too pagan." "Not really Christian." "Too many myths." "Christ never did that." But, if you approach these books as Lewis intended, as children's fiction/fantasy books with a heavy influence of Christian thought and world-view, you can glean great spiritual truths from them, just as I did. I would whole-heartedly encourage you to read the Chronicles of Narnia. If you read them as a child, re-read them now, because they will mean something entirely different to you because of your greater understanding of Christ and His ministry to us. And, if you've never read them, read them. Immerse yourself in Narnia. And wonder at the glory of Christ our Lord and King.
1 comment:
Gregory. Like you, I encourage all people to read the Narnia series. My first recollection of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was seeing it as a cartoon early in my life. I liked the story then, but have come to see the great message in my adulthood.
Seeing as the movie will be out Dec 8, I am planning on using it to guide a sermon series entitled "Christmas in Narnia". As I see it, the true gift of Christmas is not only the birth of the baby, but what that child did for us through the atonement.
Anyway, thanks for the reflections about Jesus as King. That will definately come into play in the series somewhere.
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