Dear Reader,
I write this to you on a lovely summer day with iced coffee in hand. The birds are singing in the trees. The sky is brilliant blue. The forest where I live feels happy and alive.
My favorite book series of all time is The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. As a child, my mom would read us these books at our read-aloud tea time. Each day we would gather together to read with our tea in floral china teacups we would find at thrift shops. Then it was only me and my sister who would read with our mom, and it was before the rest of my siblings were either born or could sit still enough to listen and read. My favorite of all the stories we read was the Narnia books.
In particular, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been a great companion and comfort to me throughout my life.
I have never been very fond of winter. The endless cold. The lessening light. The power outages that leave us in the dark and cold. Most winter days I pray for the seasons to change and for spring to come again. While I still do this, I have found a new love for winter when reading this book.
I live in the mountains in the middle of a great forest of pines. They stretch tall into the sky like mighty giants guarding our yellow home. They give lovely shade in the summer to hide from the heat of summer, and in the winter something truly magical happens.
As a child my greatest wish was to live in Narnia. Cupboards, drawers, closets, and doors were all searched and explored with the hope I might find some magical land like Narnia. When we moved to this house, it was beautiful, but I didn’t know how true my wish would become (at least in part).
Winter came with swirling winds of snow and frost. Snow piles up high past the front door and up to the windows some winters. A blanket of white envelopes the trees and ground—covering the trees in a thick coat of snow. All of a sudden, for a fleeting moment, it is like I have stepped into another world. A world of snow and winter and magic. A world that looks like Narnia.
While the winters are still cold, I pray for spring to come again as it did for Narnia. After a long winter of sorrow, Aslan came. Winters and springs always remind me of this story.
More than just that, it is a picture of Jesus' death and resurrection. The winter comes and feels endless. Jesus died and was buried in a tomb. But sorrow will turn to joy. The king is not dead. He gave up His life to save ours. That sacrifice broke the chains of death. On the third day (which must have felt like it lasted for eternity to the people who loved Him), Jesus rose to life! Spring has come, and winter is dead! Shout a song of victory!
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
This hope we can hold deep in our hearts.
Now the winter and spring can hold this reminder for us, as can this book. They can point us to looking at our Savior.
That, I believe, is my favorite part. It is how this whole story points to Jesus. Through the story you get to see Jesus in a new way. You get to see His sacrifice in a new way that makes it real and fresh in your mind.
I shall say no more so as not to spoil what happens (though if I am being honest, I probably have spoiled the story, as it is a reflection of Jesus). If you know what happened to Jesus, then you will know what happens in this story.
I hope you read this book. It is a treasure and one that has stayed beside me through many years and given me hope. Especially when the winters are cold and seem unending, I can remember that spring is coming and all will be made right again.
Yours Truly,
Moriyah
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P.S.
There is a witch in this story.
I know many Christian families do not like to read books with witches and evil magic in them. I agree not to read such books that promote this kind of evil. This book does not promote evil but shows it is wrong and that it can be defeated.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tells a redemptive story. It tells a story of good vs. evil. Light vs. darkness. This is Biblical. Aslan is a picture of Jesus and fights for what is right and to save the kingdom from eternal winter and hardship. The witch is evil and lies and keeps the kingdom enslaved. Through the story you see the battle between good and evil.
I believe it is important for children and adults alike to see the battle between good and evil. There is evil in this world, and the Bible talks about this. I think it is important to know there is evil but that it can be and is beaten.
Jesus has defeated sin and death. God has won! Good will win in the end.
If children are never told of the evil in the world and that it can be defeated, then when they grow up and see the evil and pain of the world, it can hurt them and their faith.
Children need to be trained to know what is right and wrong. They need to be trained up knowing there is good and evil. They need to know there is an enemy (the devil), but that Jesus has defeated him.
“Since it is so likely that they [children] will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard about brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.”
—C.S. Lewis
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