"Aslan is on the move"

Most level-headed people today enjoy a good "Chronic-what-cles of Narnia" story. Personally, I struggle to get through a whole book (particularly The Horse and His Boy)... but nonetheless, I do love the series. C.S. Lewis is a personal hero of mine... and in his writings there is an unbreakable thread running through each one: Christ--in whom Lewis finds all joy

A prime example of this theme would be this quote by Lewis from his book, The Weight of Glory:

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased."

This is true. After one year at school I have seen the desire for satisfaction played out in these very same ways. I see two traps, two cultural trends. One...the very obvious party scene. Get drunk. Get high. Have some sex. Get drunk again. Two...the not so obvious-not-party scene. Ace the courses, ace the field or gym, ace the dating scene, ace "ministry", ace the fashion trends, ace the "Office" quotes ace "uniqueness", ace having a political opinion, or whatever else you wanna ace.

In any case--these things do not have the capacity to satisfy a soul.

C.S. Lewis said, "You do not have a soul. You are a soul, you have a body" (thank you Kate Drahosh). So why then, all this effort to satisfy a temporary thing? Because people are blind to the issue. People are born dead--spiritually. Do not try to tell a drunk friend, "you're not having fun--this isn't actually fun." Do not try to tell your roommate making out with her boyfriend, "your body is a temple--treat it like it." Because sin is powerful for these reasons: it is what we naturally desire and tends to give us pleasure, or we think it will...therefore we actively choose to do it. And if someone is dead and blind, that person is not alive (obviously) and unable to see.

I myself chose to be a number in the #2 group last year at times. "i'll be happy when i get more playing time" or "i'll be happy when a boy pursues me" or "ill be happy when i get this 'ministry' stuff checked off" or "ill be happy when i ace these classes". I battled with my flesh. Desiring what the world enjoys...and tasting some... and then God in his mercy and kindness led me to repentance.

These pursuits are passionate, by anyone and everyone for satisfaction apart from Christ. The means to reach satisfaction differ, but the end is the same--despair.

The Bible says in Psalm 107: 9, "For he satisfies the longing soul". God alone has capacity to satisfy a soul because we are relational beings, created in His image. God alone has no beginning nor end--therefore he satisfies our desire for longevity (?). God alone does not change, so he satisfies our desire for consistency. God alone is the being that it will take an eternity to know--in other words, we will never completely know him--yet know him more every moment throughout eternity. Mind boggling.

So this presents a dilemma. Blindness. Deadness. We need eyes to see. We need life. Without which we cannot even begin to know God because of our sin. This is where and why the Gospel is central to all history--therefore should be central in your life.

Jesus Christ bore God's wrath on the cross, so that anyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we are able to know the one true God. This is the good news!

So if this is life which it is...we need to make it known. We need to speak it. We need to write about it. We need to sing about it. We need to be saturated in our speech with the words about Jesus, who is our only hope. Therein lies satisfaction beyond measure.

So who is Aslan? And why is he moving?

Jesus Christ is depicted in some ways by the character of Aslan in the books by Lewis. (He gave up his life for Edmund, that Edmund might live--even though he was a filthy traitor and deserved death!... Aslan took his place...and he rose...conquered death. no big deal). Mr. Beaver told the kids at the beginning of the story, "Aslan is on the move". Something huge was about to happen. The brink of war--battles to be fought and won.

In parallel...God is on the move at my campus, Concordia University in St. Paul. He will set out to conquer hearts there--to remove blindness. To call people from death to life. That they will see Christ as no longer foolishness, but treasure. And that their desires for satisfaction will completely shift from temporary things to a relationship with the unchanging God of the Bible. It is my prayer and hope and work that I might be a means to God's movement.

"According to 2 Corinthians 4, people are spiritually blind until God gives them eyes to see, that is, until God causes them to be born again. But here Jesus says in verse 18, “I am sending you to open their eyes.” The point is not hard to see. God opens the eyes of the blind to see the truth and beauty and worth of Christ. But he does by sending people to tell the good news from hearts of love and lives of service. " (from Desiring God ministries)

God willing, one year from now, I will be able to see what He has done, and say with new believers, "My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73:26). God is sovereign. He will accomplish his purposes. He declares the end from the beginning. All praise be to His glorious grace in Jesus.

"For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,' calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it" (Isaiah 46:9-11).

Grace abounds... all around...
sather