Thursday 29 December 2016

Safety

I'll preface by apologizing to any C.S. Lewis haters out there.  The last post I shared was based off a Lewis quote, and this post will be its twin.  Although, the quote is from a much different type of book...

One of the great loves of my life are the Chronicles of Narnia.  C.S. Lewis, in his children's books as well as his other works, uses allegories and metaphors in a way that penetrates deep into my brain and my heart.  Since growing up (in stature at least) the Chronicles have taken on an even greater meaning to me.  As Lewis put it in the dedication of one of his books,

"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again."

I have been wrestling a lot, due to Doug's recent cancer diagnosis, with the concept of bad things happening to good people.  I think that we can all agree that Doug falls into the category of a good (probably even great) person.  Over the last month, I've heard untold stories from people who admire, respect, and care for Doug.  

As a father-in-law, Doug is top-notch.  Wise, kind, caring, and humorous are just a few of the many adjectives that I could use to describe him.  The question entered into my brain, "How could God let this happen to such a wonderful guy?".

It is in this struggle, I found myself thinking about a particular chapter from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  This passage, and one phrase in particular has always resonated with me.  I'll set up the scene.  Mr. Beaver and Mrs. Beaver (a couple of talking beavers) are explaining to a group of English children that they are to meet Aslan (the allegorical figure representing Jesus).

"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."

I've bolded the phrase that I mentioned above.  This phrase has helped me in my struggle.


No one ever said that being a follower of Jesus would be easy, struggle-free, or safe.  Just look at Job or the disciples and early Christians.  They would all likely tell you the opposite.  Even today, many believers are persecuted for their beliefs.  If you were to walk into an average Canadian church, 99% of the parishioners would be struggling with something.  Following Jesus is not a promise of riches, of an easy life, or of safety. 

But, this word safe is balanced by another beautiful word - good.

God is good.  And, God loves Doug.  God loves Doug more than all of us love Doug combined.  It's not even close.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s will. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
                             Matthew 10:29-31

The most comforting thing about this situation, and this diagnosis, is that Doug is in the hands of Jesus.  And that, is a good place to be.

And guess what's makes it even better;

Loretta is in the hands of Jesus...

Tara, Leanne, and Erin are in the hands of Jesus...

[Insert your name here] is in the hands of Jesus...

As Leanne so wonderfully put it several days ago, "Emmanuel - God with us!"

In my last post, I talked about joy.  The point of this post is peace.

It's been echoed a lot within the family.  We feel at peace.  We are trusting in God.  This is not an easy or safe situation, but His goodness will prevail.

I am going to close with a quote from one of the later Chronicles of Narnia.  And as a homage to C.S. Lewis, I'm going to use it as an allegory/metaphor of the deepest, most desperate prayer of my heart.

"Begone, Monster, and take your lawful prey to your own place: in the name of Aslan and Aslan's great Father, the Emperor-Over-the-Sea."

The hideous creature vanished...

                                Peter: High King over all Kings of Narnia

           - Matthew

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