Aslan’s Adventure

C.S. Lewis is my first and greatest inspiration for writing. When I read the Chronicles of Narnia myself in fourth grade, I remember finishing each book and thinking to myself, That! I want to learn to do that one day! So now, it is beyond amazing that that thought has led to me to have actually written an allegorical fantasy novel, nearing publication.

During my second semester at college, my papers were consistently getting B’s and C’s for the first time in my school writing career. It should not have been a big deal, but it made me doubt if I was cut out to be a writer for the first time. Over the next break between semesters, I had no idea if I was going to continue writing. The next semester, I had signed up for a class about the Inklings. The morning before the first class I happened to come to the Bible passage that most sparked my call to write (Matthew 13). I did not plan to read it that day, it was just the passage I was on in my reading plan. That first class, we discussed Tolkien and Lewis, read excerpts from Weight of Glory, and were assigned our first reading from The Last Battle. Between reading that passage, and that class period, my confidence was restored as I remembered why I started writing. The encouragement was like God was whispering to me, “It is not going to be easy, but I have called you to do this.”

While it has been anything but easy, I have not doubted my calling as a writer since then. More recently, I reread and studied how Lewis used magic as an allegory for the foundational truths of the Gospel in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. As I made revisions, I compared how he did it, to how I had written the allegory in my work. So, that is just a summary of how influential C.S. Lewis has been to me and my writing. While my writing varies from Lewis’ work in many ways, that influence is undeniable. If you enjoy reading Lewis, you will likely love Anthemia: Kingdom of Heroes when it comes out.

The first half of his post is talking about Lewis as my inspiration. From here, I just wanted to share one of my favorite life lessons from The Last Battle. Near the halfway point in the book, the Eagle Farsight delivers devastating news to the main characters. He tells them how Cair Paravel has fallen, and that Calormen has taken over Narnia. In the wake of the news, Jewel the unicorn concludes their situation in one of my favorite quotes in literature, “Nothing now remains for us seven but to go back to Stable Hill, proclaim the truth, and take the adventure that Aslan sends us.”

Every time I read those lines, I can’t help but consider how well they summarize the call on a Christian’s life. It sums up how all we can do, faced with the darkness of the world around us, is to march against that darkness with courage, speak the truth of God’s Word against it, and trust God from there. The Christian life walked faithfully is best called an adventure, but like most of our favorite adventure characters, we have so little control over how that adventure will go. However, we know and find hope in knowing our Aslan, Jesus Christ, knows the road and the adventure that lays ahead.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

In rereading that passage for this post, I was struck by how disastrous and costly the adventure they accept from Aslan is. They resolve to take up a quest and a battle they know they cannot win in full and will eventually take their lives. There is no logical reason not to surrender or run. The only reason they do not, is for the honor of Narnia and for the name of Aslan.  Again, this is a good picture of the Christian life. We are meant to take up our crosses and lay down our lives for the sake of Christ and the Gospel. It is not a life lived for success, glory, or comfort. It is often a life that looks like defeat from a worldly perspective, but the last chapters of The Last Battle remind us why it’s still worth it.

Matthew 16:24-25 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

The heroes may not win the battle at Stable Hill, but at the end of Narnia, it ends up being of little consequence. Even if they lost their lives in battle, the main characters find such glory and joy awaiting them in the New Narnia. It’s so great, any hardship from their old lives seems but only the fading of a bad dream. This is how our rewards in heaven will be, if we are faithful to finish the race and fight the good fight.

 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

The adventure we are called to may be costly, and for a time it may not look glorious, but that is only for a time until God exalts us far beyond what we deserve. May that encourage your faith. I’m looking forward to sharing more writing with you all, and sharing more about the incredible writers who have impacted me.