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.