Lewis and the Bible

So, having not posted in a while (well since February) I don't really know where to start. I don't know if anyone actually ever reads this, and honestly it doesn't really matter if anyone ever does. It just helps to get my thoughts out in writing sometimes... Well I could write about the end of the winter and spring, about the summer, or about anything that happened between my last post and now... But I have something else in mind...

The other day I was watching the "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe." The Chronicles of Narnia is one of my favorite book series. When I was a little kid I used to read through them (all 7 of them) at least once a year. I would imagine myself as High King Peter, battling with the White Witch; or as Prince Caspian or Eustace or any number of the characters going on all of the various adventures which take place throughout the series. I would check closets and wardrobes and other various locations always hoping that Narnia was real and that I could get there. Now, having grown up, I am aware that Narnia is not a real place, and that the various characters are completely fiction. However I also now more fully understand the nuances and parallels of the story.

You see the Chronicles, and various other books and series, were written by a man named C.S. Lewis. And Lewis was part of a group of other authors at Oxford called the "Inklings," another famous member of this group was J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the "Lord of the Rings" series. Originally an Atheist from the age of 15, through his dealings with J.R.R. Tolkien and other various authors and books, he slowly rediscovered Christianity. And so in most of his books Lewis uses Christian Allegory.

So anyway, back to "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe." I was watching it, and remembering all of the analogies to Christianity and Christ. Of course Aslan is the Narnian equivalent of Christ, and the White Witch is the equivalent of Satan and evil. The eternal winter represents the state of being in sin, and the return of spring represents salvation. I had always noticed the parallels between Aslan's sacrifice and that of Christ's; Aslan's on the stone table and Christ's on the cross, but it wasn't until this viewing of the movie that I made yet another connection.

You see, when Edmond first entered into Narnia, before Peter or Susan had entered, he had lost his way and been found by the White Witch. She had enticed him to come again, this time with his brother and two sisters. Edmond believed that she would make him a king, and that his siblings would be his servants. He would rule over all of them, and all of Narnia as well. Now Aslan had different plans for the four Pevensies; he wanted to make all four of them Kings and Queens in Narnia. But Edmond, having been deceived by the White Witch, betrayed Aslan and his siblings. He tried to hand them over to the White Witch, but was unable to, and she betrayed him as well, essentially making him a prisoner and a slave.

You see, the White Witch knew the prophecy, that two sons of Adam, and two daughters of Eve, would sit on the throne and rule over Narnia, and her powers would be abolished. And so she had hoped that by destroying Edmond and his siblings, this prophecy would be undone and she would hold power forever. And she also knew the "deep magic" that the blood of a traitor belonged to her. And so essentially Edmond was hers because he had betrayed his siblings and Aslan and the whole of Narnia.

Isn't this how the devil works in our lives too? I mean he knows that God has plans to prosper us, he knows that God wants to make us like Christ and to give us life. And so he tries to entice us. He promises us prosperity, and godlikeness! The only problem is, that, like the White Witch he wants us to do it for our own benefit, in a different way than what God has for us. And for  a while it may work out, you may live like a king, you may have all the Turkish Delight that you want. But eventually it all breaks down. You no longer live like a king, you have become a slave and a prisoner to sin and death. Then you belong to Satan; the deep magic says that all traitors, all sinners belong to him.

But then the cool thing is Aslan steps in. He meets with the White Witch, and substitutes himself, his own life, for Edmond. Edmond is no longer the property of the Witch, he is free, and rejoins his brother and sisters, and begins to prepare for the battle that is soon to take place. Aslan is now in Edmond's place, he is now at the mercy of the White Witch and her minions, and he goes to meet them at the stone table.

This is exactly what Christ has done for us. We have all sinned and all are deserving of the punishment of death (Romans 3:23; 6:23). But Christ took our place; he substituted his own life for ours. We are free of the bondage to Satan and death if we choose to accept it. Christ humbled himself and became obedient to Satan and death on the cross (Philippians 2:8).

Now the part that really stood out to me while I was watching the movie this time was the celebration of the White Witch and her minions as they bound Aslan. I was disgusted by their arrogance and jubilation. They acted like they had defeated Aslan of their own power and might. They acted as if they had fought a long battle and had emerged victorious. But the truth is, the only power they had over Aslan was what power he allowed them to have. At any moment he could have thrown off his bonds and destroyed them all. He gave himself up willingly. They did not defeat him; he allowed himself to be taken. And they behaved as if all of this was by their own might and by their own power.

In the same way, though it is not written in Scripture, I can imagine that on the day of the Crucifixion of Christ Satan and his minions were celebrating and rejoicing just like the White Witch and her lackeys. It has been visualized through plays and songs and books, how Satan and his demons might have celebrated their "victory" over God on that night. But the thing is, Christ had not been defeated. Satan, and his demons, and the Jews and Romans and whoever else was there at that time had only the power over Christ that he allowed them to have (John 19:11). At any moment Christ could have been finished with the trials and beatings; at any time he could have ended it, but instead he remained. Satan did not defeat him; he allowed himself to be taken. And Satan behaved as if all of this was by his own might and by his own power.

But the "defeat" over Aslan/Christ is the definition of a Pyhrric victory. You see, in Lewis' story the White Witch believed that she was smarter than Aslan. She made a deal that she would kill Aslan but not the humans and Narnians; but she planned on betraying Aslan and killing all, and reclaiming power for herself. She believed that she would win by destroying the one thing that could defeat her; Aslan. However; she did not know the deeper magic what was written before the deep magic that she knew. Which said that when the blood if an innocent exchange his life for that of another death will be reversed. And so, by sacrificing Aslan, the White Witch essentially defeats herself.

In the same way Christ exchanged his own life for ours. Now as I said before we are all deserving of the punishment of death. Now this death is not just a simple death, this death is an eternal death is a real place called hell. And it would take all of eternity for us to pay this debt; this punishment that we owe, that we have earned. But Christ, being in very nature God, who is an eternal, infinite being, was able to take this eternal punishment upon himself, for all of mankind, and pay for it all. This Deeper Magic, Christ's death and resurrection, is what has broken our bonds to sin and death and the grave, and opened us up to new life and right relationship with Christ. By "defeating" Christ on the Cross, Satan essentially defeated himself. We no longer need be bound by him, but we can be alive in Christ!!!

It was nothing that Edmond did that freed him. It is nothing that we do that frees us from the wages of sin. It was only by Aslan's sacrifice that Edmond was freed, and only by Christ's death and resurrection are we able to have victory. But just as the story didn't end there for Edmond and the Pevensies and the Narnians, so the story doesn't end there for us. Just as Peter and Susan and Edmond and Lucy and those that came after him had to continue on the journey so do we. We must continue to grow and learn; we must continue to seek after Christ and to live for him.

Someday we will face the Last Battle. I don't know if I'll be around on this earth to see it, or if I'll have gone home to be with God before then. But I know that at some point in the future, there will be a final battle. The outcome of this battle has already been decided, even though it has not yet been fully engaged. Christ has overcome and Satan and death have been overwhelmed!!! So go and live like it!!