Friday, December 08, 2006

goose bumps


"But between them and the foot of the sky there was something so white on the green grass that even with their eagle's eyes they could hardly look at it. They came on and saw that is was a Lamb. "Come and have breakfast," said the Lamb in it's sweet milky voice.
Then they noticed for the first time that there was a fire lit on the grass and fish roasting on it. They sat down and ate the fish, hungry now for the first time for many days. And it was the most delicious food they have ever tasted.
"Please, Lamb," said Lucy, "is this the way to Aslan's country?"
"Not for you," said the Lamb. "For you the door into Aslan's country is from your own world."
"What!" said Edmund. "Is there a way to Aslan's country from our world too?"
"There is a way into MY country from all the worlds," said the Lamb; but as he spoke his snowy white flushed into tawny gold and his size changed and he was Aslan himself, towering above them and scattering light from his mane.
"Oh, Aslan," said Lucy. "Will you tell us how to get into your country from our world?"
"I shall be telling you all the time," said Aslan. "But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder. And now come; I will open the door in the sky and send you to your own world."

a little further down this happens:

"It isn't Narnia, you know," Lucy sobbed, "It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?"
"But you shall meet me, dear one," said Aslan.
"Are - are you there too, Sir?" said Edmund.
"I am," said Aslan. "But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name."

Quote from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C S Lewis

- I had goose bumps as I read this this morning on the bus. What a picture of Christ we see represented by Aslan - the Lamb and the Lion. I loved this part of the book and just had to share it. I especially loved where Aslan says their is a way to his country and he turns from a Lamb to a Lion, similar to the passage in Revelation where the Lion turns into a Lamb.
- Also when Aslan declares that he is the 'Bridge Builder', he tells them to "Do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder". It immediately made me think of how Jesus is the true 'Bridge Builder', how he has come to build the bridge between God and man, that through him coming to this earth and dying so that we might live we can now have access to God. If we put our trust in Jesus there is no longer a gap between us and God, Jesus has made a way for us to be right with God.
- Finally, when asked if he, Aslan is also in 'their' world, he replies 'I am', this is mentioned in Exodus when God is talking to Moses. It is also throughout the gospel of John where Jesus uses several examples claiming, "I am the light of the world", "I am the way, the truth and the life", "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture", "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me", "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture" and "before Abraham was born, I am". There are many more examples of this, these are just a few.

Anyhoo, I just thought that C S Lewis gives a beautiful picture of Jesus in this part of the book. Jesus is all of those things - he is the way, the truth and the life, if we put our trust in him we will be saved and he will be with us.

Immanuel = God with us. Let's remember that this Christmas when we sing the beautiful Christmas hymn "Immanuel".

3 comments:

Ruth said...

Great post Nixter. that is one of my favourite passages in the narnia series for the same reasons. One of 'A's nicknames is Reepicheep because of the scene just before that - sincerity of faith, delight in the Lord.

Nixter said...

I totally loved Reepicheep - he totally rocks! I totally love 'A' more though :)

Tracy said...

Reepicheep was my favorite character too. It has been so long since I read these books. Thanks for sharing that, Nix.