Wednesday, April 17, 2013

What Can Narnia Teach Us?

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself what Narnia can teach us?

I'm pretty sure we all love Narnia.  I mean, what's not to love?  It's so enchanting and daring and lovely, and who doesn't love the Pevensies?!


And as I've watched the movies and then, a year or so ago, read through all of the series, I've begun to realize that there are so many beautiful parallels to the Bible and the story of Jesus--the story of grace.


From Lucy we learn that faith is ever so important.

Lucy was the first to come to Narnia.  She believed and believed, even when everyone else dogmatically put her belief down and made her feel like a silly child.


She believed anyway, and she didn't rely on her feelings, but rather on her lovely, childlike faith.  

Lucy is sweet, faithful, and yet vulnerable.  She doesn't harden herself to her loved ones and her surroundings, even though she's been through a lot.

She's full of joy and love.  


She never doubts Aslan, Narnia, or Mr. Tumnus. 


And she doesn't hesitate to forgive her brother, Edmund.


And she's rewarded for her faith and loyalty.  I'm sure there's a reason she was the one that was chosen to "discover" Narnia!  :)

She's Lucy the Valiant.


Later on, Lucy struggles with the kind of insecurity most of us girls deal with.  And Aslan helps guide her through that.


Susan, on the other hand, is quite the opposite of her sister.  Maybe in a way we can learn what not to do by some of Susan's actions.  Susan is practical, "logical," and, in Lucy's eyes, just old and serious.  


Susan has lost her childhood.  She's lost her innocence and her imagination.  War has ravaged her life, and so she tries to build up walls and harden herself against all the scary circumstances around her.

    
On the other hand, Susan is her siblings' second mother.  She just wants what's best for them, but sometimes she's stretched past her limits.  She's a pleaser and she wants to be mature and grown-up for her family.  She's kind of the mother hen that wants to shoo them all under her wing, but sometimes her clucking gets too loud and she drives them away.


Susan learns that sometimes you just have to have faith.  You can't be dominated by just the seen and felt.  And she rises up to being a true, elegant queen of Narnia.

  
Queen Susan the Gentle.

And Peter.  Peter is very like his sister.  He wants to be protective of his family and likewise show his manhood.  He's struggling.  He wants to be noble and brave and strong, but he's carrying so much weight on his shoulders--the strain of his siblings, his parents, all of Narnia, and the war back home.  


Peter takes his role as king of Narnia very seriously.  He wants to be honorable and serve Aslan and please him.

He works hard, and I think that in the end, he learns that truly, bravery is doing what is right and what needs to be done, even when you're scared to death.

King Peter the Magnificent.


And then there's Edmund.  

Oh, Edmund.  :)  

Edmund takes us on this emotional roller coaster.  At first, Edmund is just hurt and somewhat annoying and one has half a mind to be really irritated by him, and half a mind to want to cuddle him. 


The truth is, Edmund's a coward.  He's selfish and irresponsible and insensitive and I guess he really just represents the worst in all of us.  To be honest, I know I can be pretty selfish.  :/

He tears other people down in an attempt to build himself up.  He puts down every single one of his siblings in different ways.


And ultimately, he betrays his family and friends and the "good guys."  He does all this because of vanity and greed.   

And what does Aslan do?

Aslan swoops down to protect this boy he's never met, who has betrayed them all.  He takes him under his wing.  He gives him grace and forgiveness.  He loves Edmund unconditionally.


It's beautiful.  

Edmund becomes responsible and honorable and he matures.

He becomes King Edmund the Just.


All of the children learn so much, and there's so much we can learn from them.


Apart from that, in the other books, there are so many other parallels and little Biblical truths intricately woven into the story.  I love it.  I greatly respect Mr. C.S. Lewis because of his faith and the way he combines his faith and his writing passion in a way that's real and genuine and classy.  I would love to be able to write like that.  

Maybe that's why Mr. Lewis wrote these books.  Maybe a visit to Narnia was meant to help us know Him better in our own lives.

7 comments:

Tammy ~ Country Girl at Home ~ said...

Joy,

I loved this post! Lucy is a true picture of faith. And I love noticing all the parallels to the Bible by CS Lewis in this series. He is an excellent writer and I know you love his writing too! He definitely has a way of pulling you in!

Oh, and I loved all these pics too! :)

I love you! 10!
MOM

Brooklyn said...

I loved this post, Joy! Your writing skills are wonderful.
I have always {loved} Narnia and Peter {gaaaah}, but Prince Caspian is my favorite.;)

Alexandria said...

I recently re-watched the Prince Caspian movie! I never get tired of Narnia books and movies. I've read and watched all of them!
C.S. Lewis is pretty much mentioned every day in my life. He's such an inspirational author, and I love how he has woven Jesus' story into a page turning book suitable for all ages!

Jordan said...

I really enjoyed this post! C.S Lewis and his books are such inspiration. I'm glad you used pictures. I always wonder, what might C.S. Lewis think of the movies that came from his imagination. Were the actors what he had imagined.
One last thing, I know this was totally by accident, but where you wrote about Edmund. You put: "Peter the Just" Instead of Edmund the just:) Great post!!-Katy

Sarah♥ said...

AWESOME post!! i really love the Narnia movies and books!! There are so many things we can learn from the Pevensies ... :) :)
I also love how C.S. Lewis wrote the books ~ such a creative way to show how Aslan is a symbol of Jesus Christ. He laid down His life for us while we were sinners (Romans 5:8) ! THAT is our Savior!!!
wonderful post :)

Joy said...

I LOVE Narnia too, Joy! Such beautiful themes of faith - C.S. Lewis was an amazing writer and Christian, one of my favourite authors :). And I love Lucy <3

Lovely post.
Love, Joy!

Unknown said...

Oh wow! I LOVED this post. I have always enjoyed Narnia and the tales that come with it. I remember my grandmother reading "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" to me. I still have a few to read, but hope to do so this summer. I also got a lot out of "The Dawn Treader" and the Bible parallels. Thanks for such an amazing post and reminder!

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