(Post by: Lilly Hobbs)
If I am quite honest with you, dear reader, my original plan for today’s blog post was to republish one from our archive that hasn’t been brought to our attention for some time. Though I am off school this week for a short break before starting another round of classes, I came down with a sickness earlier in the week and am still a bit tired.
However, the Lord woke me up this morning by putting a certain passage on my heart from a book I just recently finished. I will give you only one guess as to who the author may be. If you guessed C. S. Lewis, well, of course you are correct!
As I have mentioned in previous posts, it is one of my goals to read through the Narnia series in 2023, and in February I finished the very first book in the series titled, “The Magician’s Nephew”. I will try not to spoil the whole plot while attempting to make my point, but we’ll see how well I do.
The main characters, who happen to be two children, are a boy named Digory and a girl named Polly. After much of their story has already unraveled in many unique ways, they find themselves in a dark and mysterious world, a world very different from their own. The trouble is that, due to several misfortunes, they have brought an evil witch with them, and she has entered this world alongside them.
Just as they start to question what this world may be or who may reside in it, a great Lion begins to create a world full of the true, the good, and the beautiful. It’s one of the most glorious depictions of Creation I have ever read.
Let’s back up a minute and gain some perspective on Digory, though.
Digory’s mother is extremely ill, and everyone believes she may die soon as a result. Digory’s hope is that he will find something which he can take back to their world to heal his mother. So, following the creation of this new world, Digory comes face-to-face with the great Lion whose name is none other than Aslan. Aslan is meant to be a mirroring of Jesus in Lewis’ Narnia series.
This is the passage that is on my heart this morning… “’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 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. But when he had said “yes,” he thought of his mother, and he thought of the great hopes he had had, and how they were all dying away, and a lump came in his throat and tears in his eyes, and he blurted out:
“But please, please—won’t you—can’t you give me something that will cure my mother?”
Up till then he had been looking at the Lion’s great feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at his face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion’s eyes.
They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory’s own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his mother than he was himself” (Lewis, 1983).
Aslan doesn’t go on to explain why Digory’s mother is sick or what the purpose of it all is. Neither does he promise to heal her in that moment, but what He asks Digory to do is trust Him. He does not act as if he doesn’t care, in fact, Digory felt as if Aslan cared more about his mother than he did.
And the truth is, Aslan did.
This is precisely what I think some of us need to be reminded of today. Most of us struggle greatly when it comes to sitting with unexplained things for a time, and that may be because we don’t grasp the reality that Jesus cares more about whatever it is that’s weighing on our hearts than we do.
Our Savior is trustworthy, and He is so, so kind. It is not His will that you experience this trial, or this hardship, or watch someone struggle and haven’t the ability to intervene.
This particular passage ends with Aslan looking Digory in the eyes and saying, “’My son, my son. I know. Grief is great. Only you and I in this land know that yet. Let us be good to one another’” (Lewis, 1983).
These words may not make much difference for some, but for the one who needs to hear it: Jesus knows. Not only does He know, but He cares a great deal, and He answers with Himself.
Look into His eyes and you will see.
“For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the One who helps you.” (Isaiah 41:13)
References
Lewis, C. S. (1983). The Magician’s Nephew. Harper Trophy.
The Few 
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