Asland Is on the Move

One of my all-time favorite authors is C.S. Lewis. Not that everything he writes I completely understand, but what I do has had an impact on my thinking. When our children were small, we read Lewis’ children’s series The Chronicles of Narnia. It is without a doubt one of the finest series of books ever written for children. Our kids loved it, and my daughter and son-in-law are reading it to their children now.

C. S. Lewis was an atheist for much of his life. However, later he came to know Christ. A major influence in his life was J.R.R. Tolkien who was a fellow professor at Cambridge. Tolkien was a Christian, and he helped initiate the process that eventually brought Lewis to Christ.

From that point, most of his work was a defense of Christianity. His book Mere Christianity is still a big seller today. Lewis had the ability to take complicated subjects and explain them in simple ways. One of the best examples is his series, The Chronicles of Narnia. In these books, Asland, a powerful lion, is the Christ figure. The first book of the series, The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe, focuses on four children who find themselves in the land of Narnia. This land of Narnia has magic that empowers a child’s imagination as they meet animals that talk. But in many ways Narnia is a sad place because an evil witch has cast a spell making it always winter but never Christmas.

The children first hear about Asland from a beaver who says, “They say Asland is on the move, perhaps he has already landed.” Even though the children have no idea who Asland is, their ears perked up. From the moment the beaver had spoken these words, everyone felt quite different as if it had enormous meaning that you remember all your life.

Now you see why I like C.S. Lewis. What an ingenious way to introduce Jesus to children. Jesus, who is all powerful like a lion, came to our earth as a lamb. However, from the moment he landed in that stable in Bethlehem, things have never been the same.

Sharing the Gospel is simply letting people know that Jesus has come to our Narnia. And we, too, live in a place that is sad and always winter in the sense that our dreams hardly ever come true the way we hope they will. It is a broken—hurting world. But to this world Jesus came, and he is on the move. He came to save people from their own devices. He came to set them free from the bondage and captivity of Satan. Look around; see how many people you know who are sad, addicted, without hope. They just need Jesus; he and he alone can save them. Let them know that Asland is on the move, and things will never be the same again.