Narnia

Yesterday I went to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader with my three brothers. After I got over the price of the 3-D movie ticket in Big Rapids (outrageous! and the seats aren't even comfortable!), we got settled in with our sweet glasses on. We were late, surprise, surprise, so we got there just in time for the film to begin. I have thoroughly enjoyed the entire Chronicles or Narnia book series and look forward to each movie version. No matter how many times I read or how many times I watch, I can't get over C.S. Lewis' parallels to Jesus Christ.

For example, somewhere in the middle of the movie, the Pevensie's cousin Eustace is turned into a dragon because he gave over to the temptation of gold and treasure. No matter how hard he tries, he could not change himself back until near the end when he met Aslan. In the scene, Eustace was wounded, tired, and weak after a long battle. He was lying in on a sand bar in the middle of the sea when Aslan appeared. Eustace tried to rise but slumped down into the sand, that is, until Aslan began to gently claw at the sand. With each swipe of his paw in the sand, a red, flaming scratch appeared on Eustace's body. Eustace the dragon rose up (in what looks like pain) and lifted off the ground and turned into a burning ball of light. Finally, he was set back down on dry land at Aslan's stone table as a boy once again. The best part was Eustace's description of how he was changed back into a boy. He tells his cousins that no matter how hard he tried, he could not change himself. He was powerless to do anything to make the slightest change. Until Aslan showed up and did the changing. Eustace said that the change from dragon to boy hurt, but in a good way, "like a thorn being pulled from a foot," type of hurt. How true is this of our Christian walk? Sometimes our sins and temptations overtake us and we turn in to dragons of sorts. Trapped. We know we need to make changes and get rid of sin: so we try and try and try and try and try on our own strength. But no matter how much we try, we can't. We get discouraged because we're trying HARD, but nothing happens then we get disappointed in ourselves. We're stuck in our sin until Christ comes and sets us free. What glorious news! Even though it may be a bit painful, we are changed. That little bit of pain of changing forms is a good kind of pain. A pain that tells us we are being made new and becoming more sanctified as we submit to Christ's authority as the one who can change us. Praise God that we need a power outside of ourselves to save us! Only He can change us, just like Aslan was the only one who could change Eustace.

Christmas is so close. I'm so thankful for God sending his son Jesus so that I can be changed. Constantly. It's not like it's a one time deal then it's done. We are a people with a sinful nature; I am a person with a sinful nature and occasionally I find myself struggling to change myself, to rid myself of sin and temptation; but I can't. It's not until I'm under Jesus' gentle claws that any transformation takes place.