More on Aslan later…
As I wrote about a Lion and his power and his ability to make fantasy a reality. He showed up, albeit in the form of a mustachioed man with a bunch of letters after his name. This very wise man stood up in front of me and prayed a prayer that was true for his life and never more than at that moment did I want it to be true for my life as well:
“LORD, if you don’t intervene right now, we are toast.”
He had lived his life in such a way that all he had was Godly power to shape and push and engulf him. He put it all on the table and there was no security money left in his pockets, there was no insurance plan ready for a rainy day and there was no earthly Ace up his own sleeve. All he had was the knowledge, it was no longer hope — it was a sure thing that God would show up at His ordained moment.
I had been ready to run away from the life God had chosen for me and He showed up.
Sometimes I put some of it on the line. Sometimes I would like God to intervene. I wonder what it would be like if I NEEDED God to intervene. I wonder what it would be like if I put EVERYTHING on the line.
Hmmmm…
“My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size — abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become."
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (The Message)
“LORD, take my weakness and make it your strength. Thank you for showing up so that I am not toast.”
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Who is Aslan? - Part I
“Who is Aslan?” asked Susan.
“Aslan?” said Mr. Beaver, “Why don’t you know? He’s the King. He’s the Lord of the whole wood, but not often here, you understand. Never in my time or my father’s time. But the word has reached us that he has come back. He is in Narnia at this moment. He’ll settle the White Queen all right. It is he, not you, that will save Mr. Tumnus.”
“She won’t turn him into stone too?” said Edmund.
“Lord love you, Son of Adam, what a simple thing to say!” answered Mr. Beaver with a great laugh. “Turn him into stone? If she can stand on her two feet and look him in the face it’ll be the most she can do and more than I expect of her. No, no. He’ll put all to rights as it says in an old rhyme in these parts: —
Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.
You’ll understand when you see him.”
“But shall we see him?” asked Susan.
“Why daughter of Eve, that’s what I brought you here for. I’m to lead you where you shall meet him,” said Mr. Beaver.
“Is—is he a man?” asked Lucy.
“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the Great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion—the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver, “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Excerpt from 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' by C.S. Lewis, 1950.
--
Who is Aslan? A simple, self-described “children’s tale” of adventure and fantastical journeys beyond most mortal imaginations speaks more truth than meets the ordinary eye.
By using some simple logic and reasoning, putting together some context clues and realizing whom the author is: it does not take too much prying to realize who Aslan is to Narnia. He is the savior, he is the son of the Great Emperor; he himself is the King. He is The Lion, the ultimate foe to the wicked Queen and the fulfiller of ancient prophecies. He is the ruler, the good leader and the powerful warrior.
No one dares put him inside a box of his or her own making. No one dares come before him unannounced with cruel intent or selfish motives in their hearts. No one can look directly at him with knees unfettered and hearts at a normal rate. Aslan is the one about whom everyone talks and very few have seen. He is the one who will come in his Kingdom’s time of need in order to make things right once again. He has been here and he will be coming back.
Aslan is a Lion — a fierce, snarling brute with fire in his eyes and thunder in his step. His roar is all-powerful and unadulterated as his enemies know their fate even before it befalls them.
Notice how the beaver reacts when the little girl asks if Aslan is safe… “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe.”
Does he sound safe? He is a warrior, a King, a wild creature and he is a lion for crying out loud. What ever gave any of us the impression he was safe? Where does it say he is safe? He is anything but safe, and yet we want him to be safe because we are in denial that Narnia is in eternal winter. But Narnia is under the curse of winter — forever winter with no Christmas. And yet we prefer to maintain the status quo and not rock any boats. We want him to be safe because that keeps us out of danger — or so we think. But maybe this is because it has been winter for so long we forgot what the sunshine and a crystal clear blue sky look like.
Though he is anything but safe, we do know one thing for sure. And the simple beaver lays it right out there to the little girl who is undoubtedly shaking in her proverbial boots after learning about this Lion. “Course he isn’t safe,” the beaver says, “But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
His goodness is known beyond the shadow of a doubt. He is unpredictable, all-powerful and omniscient; he possesses a roar to move mountains and a bite that could slay his foes in one fell swoop. BUT HE IS GOOD. We need not run from him in fear, but rather we must fearfully bow before him. He is after all, The King.
Know him, follow him, trust him, obey him, believe in him, submit to him and love him.
“I wept and wept and wept that no one was found able to open the scroll, able to read it. One of the Elders said, ‘Don’t weep. Look — the lion from Tribe Judah, the Root of David’s Tree, has conquered. He can open the scroll, can rip through the seven seals.”
Revelation 5:4-5 (The Message)
“I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary.”
John 10:10-11 (The Message)
“Aslan?” said Mr. Beaver, “Why don’t you know? He’s the King. He’s the Lord of the whole wood, but not often here, you understand. Never in my time or my father’s time. But the word has reached us that he has come back. He is in Narnia at this moment. He’ll settle the White Queen all right. It is he, not you, that will save Mr. Tumnus.”
“She won’t turn him into stone too?” said Edmund.
“Lord love you, Son of Adam, what a simple thing to say!” answered Mr. Beaver with a great laugh. “Turn him into stone? If she can stand on her two feet and look him in the face it’ll be the most she can do and more than I expect of her. No, no. He’ll put all to rights as it says in an old rhyme in these parts: —
Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.
You’ll understand when you see him.”
“But shall we see him?” asked Susan.
“Why daughter of Eve, that’s what I brought you here for. I’m to lead you where you shall meet him,” said Mr. Beaver.
“Is—is he a man?” asked Lucy.
“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the Great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion—the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver, “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Excerpt from 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' by C.S. Lewis, 1950.
--
Who is Aslan? A simple, self-described “children’s tale” of adventure and fantastical journeys beyond most mortal imaginations speaks more truth than meets the ordinary eye.
By using some simple logic and reasoning, putting together some context clues and realizing whom the author is: it does not take too much prying to realize who Aslan is to Narnia. He is the savior, he is the son of the Great Emperor; he himself is the King. He is The Lion, the ultimate foe to the wicked Queen and the fulfiller of ancient prophecies. He is the ruler, the good leader and the powerful warrior.
No one dares put him inside a box of his or her own making. No one dares come before him unannounced with cruel intent or selfish motives in their hearts. No one can look directly at him with knees unfettered and hearts at a normal rate. Aslan is the one about whom everyone talks and very few have seen. He is the one who will come in his Kingdom’s time of need in order to make things right once again. He has been here and he will be coming back.
Aslan is a Lion — a fierce, snarling brute with fire in his eyes and thunder in his step. His roar is all-powerful and unadulterated as his enemies know their fate even before it befalls them.
Notice how the beaver reacts when the little girl asks if Aslan is safe… “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe.”
Does he sound safe? He is a warrior, a King, a wild creature and he is a lion for crying out loud. What ever gave any of us the impression he was safe? Where does it say he is safe? He is anything but safe, and yet we want him to be safe because we are in denial that Narnia is in eternal winter. But Narnia is under the curse of winter — forever winter with no Christmas. And yet we prefer to maintain the status quo and not rock any boats. We want him to be safe because that keeps us out of danger — or so we think. But maybe this is because it has been winter for so long we forgot what the sunshine and a crystal clear blue sky look like.
Though he is anything but safe, we do know one thing for sure. And the simple beaver lays it right out there to the little girl who is undoubtedly shaking in her proverbial boots after learning about this Lion. “Course he isn’t safe,” the beaver says, “But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
His goodness is known beyond the shadow of a doubt. He is unpredictable, all-powerful and omniscient; he possesses a roar to move mountains and a bite that could slay his foes in one fell swoop. BUT HE IS GOOD. We need not run from him in fear, but rather we must fearfully bow before him. He is after all, The King.
Know him, follow him, trust him, obey him, believe in him, submit to him and love him.
“I wept and wept and wept that no one was found able to open the scroll, able to read it. One of the Elders said, ‘Don’t weep. Look — the lion from Tribe Judah, the Root of David’s Tree, has conquered. He can open the scroll, can rip through the seven seals.”
Revelation 5:4-5 (The Message)
“I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary.”
John 10:10-11 (The Message)
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
The First
Truth is true because it is true.
Neither you, nor I, nor any other created being has anything to do with the creation of or addition to ultimate truth. There is no mountain to climb to find it... only a God who embodies it and longs to have you know Him. Know Him and know the truth that exists and has existed since before there was a sky and an earth beneath it.
His arms are wide. Run toward them and He will embrace you for who you are and who He has created you to be.
This God has gone by many names, none of them able to encapsulate the entirety of His being. But you can start by calling out to Him as the One who brought you into this world. He has promised to answer your call as soon as you make it.
Nothing can separate us from His love if only we ask Him to bestow it upon us.
Ask.
Neither you, nor I, nor any other created being has anything to do with the creation of or addition to ultimate truth. There is no mountain to climb to find it... only a God who embodies it and longs to have you know Him. Know Him and know the truth that exists and has existed since before there was a sky and an earth beneath it.
His arms are wide. Run toward them and He will embrace you for who you are and who He has created you to be.
This God has gone by many names, none of them able to encapsulate the entirety of His being. But you can start by calling out to Him as the One who brought you into this world. He has promised to answer your call as soon as you make it.
Nothing can separate us from His love if only we ask Him to bestow it upon us.
Ask.
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