Safety and Goodness

 Good morning followers, 

 

As another week has spun by, I’m happy - I think - to report that, at least as far as we’re concerned, absolutely nothing of any interest has happened to us this week.  Here in Queensland, CoVid restrictions are some of the lightest in the country, with the major hassle having to wear a mask everywhere and use the “Contact Tracing” app on our phones so that Big Brother always knows where we are. I laughed when I heard the other day that the police in some city in America were not apologizing for accessing that information to round up criminals. The police here responded with, “That’s terrible! And furthermore we’d like to do that as well.” 

 

Even though I have no outstanding warrants, I still can’t help but feel a little uneasy as I go from shop to shop, leaving digital footprints all over the place. But really, folks, this is nothing compared to what a lot of the world is experiencing today, and even, I believe, what a lot of you are having to endure. And when you come down to it, every generation has had its trying days, and by God’s grace have moved on to the next generation. So in that spirit, I want to talk about someone with whom just about all of you are familiar, C.S. Lewis.  

 

He is absolutely one of my favorite authors from the early to mid last century, writing such fascinating Bible-based stories like The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters as well as books that make us go down deeper and stay down longer, like Mere Christianity.

 

It was in that last book that Lewis shared an experience that began to pull him away from atheism and into faith. As he was going somewhere on the bus one day, he noticed two men were arguing over the last seat available, each one making a case for why he should sit there. 

 

“I should sit because I’m older,” said one man.

 

“But I should sit because I have a heavy load and I’m traveling further” countered the other.

 

Lewis noted that neither man was basing his argument on his ability to take the seat by force, but rather on an innate “right” to sit, calling on some universal “ought” that neither man could verbalize but nevertheless both recognized. How could they do that, thought Lewis, unless there is indeed an Absolute Right and Wrong; and if that’s so, then where did it come from?

 

This line of reasoning led Lewis to search for, and eventually reconnect with the God he’d been taught about as a child. He went on to become a great professor at Oxford, and then at Cambridge. Interestingly, he was friends with J. R. Tolkien, the creator of the Lord of the Rings, a series of stories that eventually made its way to Hollywood. Both Lewis and Tolkien were interested in writing fantasy novels, but Lewis, with his new found faith, insisted that he wanted his stories to communicate Divine truth. Today if you were to hold up Lord of the Rings next to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it wouldn’t take long to figure out which one came from C. S. Lewis. His work has been a great blessing for both me and my kids. Lord of the Rings has been no less significant, but for the most part, has mostly succeeded in giving us nightmares. 

 

Here’s one of my favorite quotes from the Wardrobe to help you face these days of uncertainty. Remember that the lion in the story is called Aslan, and it’s not hard to see that He is none other than Jesus. Lucy is hearing of Aslan for the first time, and asks Mr. Beaver,

 

“Is he quite safe?” asked Lucy.

 

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

 

So, my prayer for each of you this week is not necessarily for safety (tho that would be nice!) but that we might walk with our King, Who is and always will be good.

 

Marsha