C. S. Lewis Had a Secret

 

I was at least 25 before I figured out that Aslan was Jesus and the White Witch the devil. How old were you when the penny dropped? I also couldn't fathom why Aslan was prepared to die for his friends, especially for someone like Edmund, who surely didn't deserve such a sacrifice.

We read his books as children, and they have lingered in our minds for a lifetime.

It doesn't matter how the truth is shared -  whether through a brilliant work of fiction or a divine appointment. The truth is planted like a seed within us and this is the secret C. S. Lewis knew. He sowed seeds small enough to enter our bloodstream and lodge in our hearts and we didn't even know it was happening.

I started writing stories as a way to plant seeds into my own children's minds. In my first novel, I wanted to teach them to guard their thoughts- to guard what they allowed into their consciousness and to be aware that what they dwelt on really did make a difference. I knew bible bashing or lecturing achieved little. I wanted to plant seeds of truth that could one day grow. I wanted to plant seeds without them even knowing.

And it doesn’t matter how small that seed is as long as it has the potential to bust out when it's needed the most.  

Did you know C. S. Lewis was raised a Christian but turned his back on God from 15 years old until he was 33? That's 18 long years. But he must have had some good seeds planted within him when he was a boy- seeds that lay dormant until the time was right. Do you know who helped him back to relationship with God- who helped those seeds to bust out into new life? Yes, J. R. R. Tolkien! I love that, don't you? How two of the greatest story tellers to ever live both shared a love for the Truth!

Maybe it doesn’t matter that it took me years and years to put all the pieces of the story together.  All I saw for a long long time was the excitement of Narnia, and not what C. S. Lewis was trying to say.

But maybe that's the point. We're not meant to understand everything all at once. Just like life - it takes time to understand all the characters and events, to figure out what they stand for and why. But the truth will always be revealed in the end.

What seeds have been planted inside you? What seeds are you planting in your children and friends?

Here's a seed that was planted in me when I was seven, reading the words of Aslan......

"You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you," said the Lion.     

                                   

                                                    

 

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