Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. [1 Peter 1:8-9 (CSB)]
Although C.S. Lewis never intended the seven books in The Chronicles of Narnia series to be allegories, they are filled with Christian imagery and allusions. Having enjoyed reading (and re-reading) the Narnia books, I was pleased when the Pastor opened his sermon on “The Supremacy of Jesus” by quoting from it. In Prince Caspian, after a year’s absence from Narnia, Lucy encounters Aslan the lion (the Christ-like figure in the series) and says, “Aslan, you’re bigger.” The lion replies, “That is because you are older, little one.” When she asks, “Not because you are?” the lion assures her, “I am not.” He then explains, “But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”
Only a year had passed in Lucy’s world since she last saw Aslan, but 1,300 years had passed in Narnia. Even so, in all that time, Aslan hadn’t gotten larger. As Hebrews 13:8 reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Indeed, God is unchangeable in His being, character, will, attributes, power, and promises.
Lucy’s misperception of Aslan’s size is not because she’s another year older or two inches taller. While we tend to think of growing as getting older or larger, growing in the spiritual sense is different. It’s a little like seeing people from a distance. From afar, they seem small but, as we grow closer to them, they seem to enlarge. Once face-to-face, we finally perceive how large they really are! Spiritual growth is coming closer to God so that we perceive how big He is and how small we are. Growth in our spiritual life doesn’t mean there is more of us; if anything, there is less of us and more of God! While God is immutable, our relationship with Him is not.
As we grow and mature spiritually, like Lucy, our perception of God will change proportionally. The more we move toward Him, the larger He becomes! We will come to see both our spiritual brokenness and the greatness of God’s mercy, our sinfulness and His immeasurable holiness, our weakness and His infinite power, our poverty and His limitless grace, our emptiness and His abundant love. As we accept our inadequacy and hopelessness, our small perspective of God changes and we begin to grasp the full extent of God’s wisdom, glory, power, and majesty. Indeed, our God is a big God!
Aslan played a prominent role in the first Narnia book so all four of the children know he exists. Nevertheless, upon their return to Narnia, they don’t see him. But, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there. Lucy is the only one who finally sees him, perhaps because, unlike her siblings, she was the only one who believed Aslan would help them. For the other three children, Aslan remains invisible until, one by one, like Lucy, they start having faith in him. It’s been said that “seeing is believing.” In this case, it is the believing that allowed for the seeing! I expect that, as their faith increased, like Lucy, each sibling said, “Aslan, you’re bigger!”
And, so it is with Jesus. We must believe in Him to see Him and the more we trust Him, the bigger He gets!
It’s often said, “Like father, like son,” and that was true of my father-in-law and his sons. Although they weren’t carbon copies of their dad, the boys shared several characteristics with the man who fathered them. In the same way, because God created us in His image, we share some of His characteristics. Of course, there are many important ways we are not like our Creator—He is all-knowing, eternal, all-powerful, and ever-present. Without a physical body, we don’t have things like God’s nose, hair color, or smile. Nevertheless, we do resemble Him in the spiritual, moral, and intellectual attributes of our nature that distinguish us from the rest of the animal world.
In 1962, my 2-month-old nephew Johnny and his parents traveled 1,500 miles for his Baptism. Because my mother was hospitalized (and soon would be dead), the sacrament took place at her bedside. This was the only time Johnny and his grandmother met and the last time my sister saw our mother alive.
We once had neighbors who left our church for what I’ll call the “church of what’s happening now.” Its members have a variety of beliefs about God and, while they acknowledge a “higher power,” they do not share a concept of it. It could be God, a sacred force, or the spirit of life and there is no right or wrong way to understand Him, Her, or It. While some may regard Jesus as a great moral and spiritual leader or prophet (and possibly even supernatural), they don’t believe He was God and reject the Trinity. Theirs is an eclectic mix of beliefs with each person having his or her own personal truth. Embracing uncertainty, some believe there may be an afterlife and/or reincarnation but, for others, this life is all there is. Although they look to the Bible for wisdom, they also find spiritual inspiration in texts like the Bhagavad Gita, Dhammapada, and Tao Te-Ching. Our neighbors were loving caring people who believed in good things like justice, compassion, peace, protecting the environment, and the dignity of the individual. Nevertheless, while some of their thinking was correct, their conclusion was very wrong.
Earlier this week, I compared a fictional 21st century Noah with the original ark builder. Although I was told there had been no rain on earth before the Flood, since I hadn’t read it myself, I wanted to make sure before writing it. As it turns out, there is no clear decisive answer to whether or not there was rain before Noah’s day so I didn’t mention it at all.
Back in 1919, pharmacist W.K. Buckley created a concoction to treat coughs, colds, and bronchitis called Buckley’s Original Mixture. Buckley’s elixir was tremendously effective but its flavor was horrid. Nevertheless, their nasty tasting blend of things like menthol, camphor, Canadian balsam, and pine needle oil is still being sold more than 100 years later. The mixture’s longevity is due as much to the company’s straightforward and humorous “awful taste” ad campaign as it is to its reputed efficacy. With the slogan, “It tastes awful. And it works!” Buckley’s is described by consumers as “the worst tasting, foulest smelling, yet most effective cough remedy.” Apparently, it is. Despite ads admitting, “People swear by it. And at it,” consumers continue to endure Buckley’s ghastly flavor. Never having used Buckley’s (and not about to try), this is not an endorsement!
Devotions of the Heart 