In C.S. Lewis' story, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a young girl named Lucy is told that Aslan (a lion who is also a Christ figure) is "on the run". Everyone in the room is excited that the "presence of God" will be among them.
Lucy is not sure what she thinks about the announcement so she asks about Aslan, "Is he safe?" The honest and insightful reply is, "No, he's not safe, but he is good."
There are many things that move me in Lewis' story and that line moves me most. Our contemporary temptation is to try to "tame" God. We sometimes emphasize His love, compassion and goodness to such an extent that we domesticate God in our thinking.
In the Bible and in our experience we also discover that God is dangerous! He is dangerous when it comes to evil, wickedness, injustice and haughtiness. I'm grateful to know and to follow a God who is not weak or timid but bold and powerful. And, He's good.
On a personal note, I leave Thursday for London where I will get to visit C.S. Lewis' home as I attend a conference at Oxford. My posts over the next few days may be infrequent since I'm not sure how much access to the Internet I'll have.
Talk with you soon.
1 comment:
I have given this a great deal of thought and would like to approach it from a different angle. We are blessed that we have a powerful and mighty God, but here we have a young girl concerned for the safety of such a strong and powerful Aslan. I believe God wants us to see His compassion and desires us to "love" Him in our feeble way and not just look at His power. Think of it,God has a tender side and even though correction comes, it usually is not in the degree that we deserve but rather with a tender and crying heart. If we learn to have the compassion and concern that Lucy had for Aslan, it is a two way street that goes back and forth. We need to see God's hurting heart, just as He sees ours. My question is do we really love and care about God as Lucy did?
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