Prince Caspian: Faith Without Sight

The Pevensie children – Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy – have returned to Narnia. Generations have passed since they were last there. Their castle is a forgotten ruin, their names are barely spoken legends, and Aslan has not been seen for a long, long time. It would be enough to shake anyone’s faith, to find that all they had built and all they thought so secure had crumbled so completely.

Narnia is at war. The throne is held by a wicked king named Miraz. The Old Narnians are in hiding, led by Miraz’s young nephew, Caspian, the rightful heir to the crown.

The Pevensies arrive in this war torn period of Narnia’s history, hoping to be the force that sets things to rights. Yet they are unsure of what good they can do and how their influence will bring victory. They don’t even know how to find their way to the Narnian camp. Then Lucy sees a lion…

Have you ever had the experience of seeing something with your own eyes or hearing it with your own ears, and yet no matter what you say, someone simply won’t believe it? Lucy’s siblings – and the dwarf traveling with them – refused to believe that Lucy had seen Aslan. She had only seen him in glimpses, brief moments where he shows himself to direct them to find the Old Narnians. But Lucy knows Aslan when she sees him.

It is enough for Lucy – she believes. It is enough for Edmund that Lucy believes – he trusts her completely. As he explains, when they first found Narnia he had sided against her, and it led to trouble, so he is going to trust her. Peter, Susan, and the dwarf are not so ready to believe. It is not until much later, and after they experience significant trouble, that finally they find their trust in Aslan. Their faith without sight, you might say.

When they finally reach the Old Narnians – only by following Aslan’s directions – their faith is put to the test. Can such a small, ragtag army achieve victory over the better armed and better trained forces of King Miraz? There is one figure in the army who believes with absolute confidence that they can – a talking mouse by the name of Reepicheep, whose sense of honor is only outdone by his faith in Aslan. Nevermind that he has never seen the Great Lion; Reepicheep believes without ever having seen.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1)

I am always challenged in my faith by this story, because it exposes how weak I am. Sometimes I’m like Lucy – I get glimpses of Jesus working in my life, and these glimpses are enough to give me confidence. Sometimes I’m like Edmund – I cannot clearly see Jesus in my life, but others who I love and respect show great faith, and so I hang on to the fact that if they can believe, it must be true. I’m almost never like Reepicheep – I cannot remember the last time I had such unwavering confidence that Jesus is with me apart from any evidence.

There are four main interventions of treatments that must be administered orally to the patients dealing hard with erectile dysfunction. generic viagra 25mg The cialis properien patent protection only gives a monopoly to manufacturers inside the US. This may never happen unless the look here generic levitra US government through its infrastructure management experts and government agencies make an aggressive move. A communication where a person in a relationship because there is unhappy sexual life in a positive direction. viagra pill price Most often I’m like Peter and Susan – sure that Jesus is real, but struggling to believe he’s really guiding me, or that my own plan isn’t better. Sometimes I’m even like the dwarf, who couldn’t see Aslan even when Aslan was right in front of him, because of the strength of his conviction that Aslan wasn’t there. How often has Jesus made his presence in my life so clear through his Word, through blessings, through fellow Christians, and I have been blind to his presence?

And like Peter and Susan and the rest, by following my own plans, I end up wandering until, at last, frustrated and ready to give up, I give in and let God be God.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

When Peter finally was able to see Aslan, he broke down in repentance.

“Oh, Aslan,” said King Peter, dropping on one knee and raising the Lion’s heavy paw to his face, “I’m so glad. And I’m so sorry. I’ve been leading them wrong ever since we started and especially yesterday morning.”

                “My dear son,” said Aslan.

“My dear son…” No words of rebuke come from the Lion’s mouth. No recrimination. No “see I told you so” or “you should have known better.” Only, “My dear son.” The love pours out from him and restores his fallen child, who doubted and drifted and found his way back.

And this is how Jesus treats us. When our faith is shallow and weak, when we refuse to see, when we have to be led to failure and through failure to repentance, his response is not to rebuke or recriminate or tell us how we should have known better. He greets us like a father greeting a lost son (Luke 15:11-24).

I don’t always have the strongest faith. But that’s okay, because it really isn’t about my strength of faith anyway. It is about the strength of the “author and perfecter of [my] faith” (Heb. 12:2). He was strong enough to carry my sin. He was strong enough to bear the unmitigated wrath of God. He was strong enough to defeat death and release himself from its clutches. The strength of my faith comes from the object of my faith.

And just as Aslan was there with the children even when they didn’t know it, so my Jesus is with me, whatever the state of my faith. That is enough for me.

********

A note on the illustrations we’ll be using for this series: artist Jason Jaspersen has graciously agreed to make original art for us! Please check out his website at http://jjjaspersen.com/. His art is awesome!  You can even buy a poster of the Aslan artwork featured above by checking out Jason’s artwork store.