And for something completely different....

A scene from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been on my mind lately. I thought I would share it with you. I don't think I'm breaking any copyright laws due to the shortness of the scene and its use as an illustration. I'm assuming the same rules apply as academic papers that are published. Anyway - here it is. Attribution to follow.
______________________________

"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'm longing to see him," said Peter, "even if I do feel frightened when it comes to the point" (86).
___________________________________
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1950.

This image of God has been on my mind in recent days. Up to this point, I have not used this blog to talk about my faith. I thought that I wanted it to be a place for me to discuss culture and media and I didn't want potential readers to be turned away by pre-conceived notions of what "Christians" talk about. However, I've come to realize that this is really stifling what I want to say. How can I talk about the impact that media has in my life while leaving out a huge part of it?? So - from now on, I'll talk about whatever. :-) I hope you stay and join the conversation.

Back to the image of God as Lewis portrays him. At other points in the series, characters talk about how Aslan is "not a tame lion." He is not safe, but he is good. What a beautifully terrifying picture of God. I mean that in a good way. I believe that I should have a healthy (emphasis on healthy) fear of God. I think my concept of God has turned into someone that makes my life work that way I want Him to. Then, when something doesn't turn out the way I anticipate, I am angry at God. Why? Have I been given my version of the future? Absolutely not. Then why do I feel as is I have lost something I never had in the first place?

I'm reminded of a quote by Jim Eliot. (This is from memory, so it may not be exactly correct.) "Whatever is--is actual. What might be, simply is not. Therefore, I must not query God as if he has robbed me of things which are not. Furthermore, the things that are are good, God-given and enriched. Let not my longing slay the appetite of my living." How do I "slay the appetite of my living?" When I focus on what could have been or what I wish had happened, instead of realizing what God has for me today. When I allow fear or a desire to make everything okay for people kill the urge to share my heart.

I have been reading Captivating by Stasi and John Eldridge. There is a phrase that has been on my mind. Stasi says women often feel like they are both too much and too little. That captures, in a nutshell, many of my issues. I often feel that I am too much. I tend to hold my heart back, not because I don't long for people to see me or because I don't trust them, but because I am afraid that they just don't want to deal with it. It's too much.

I guess this image of God as both a fierce and good lion is forcing me to look at some patterns of relating that I have, both with God and with people. It never ceases to amaze me how God uses literature and story to touch my heart in the deepest places. Thank you, Father.