The Magician’s Nephew

One of the best parts of having kids is you get to relive your childhood all over again and experience the things you might have missed as a child.

Somehow I missed the captivating Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis when I was a kid.  Never heard of it really.  But since the movies, I have purchased a complete set and when we are on road trips I read one whole book to my family.

Last weekend we read The Magician’s Nephew, the first in the series that was written after the others in order to explain the creation of Narnia itself.

As you may or may not know, C.S. Lewis was a Christian writer.  He wrote tons of books for adults on the subject.  But he also wrote kids books.  And in the Chronicles of Narnia, God and the battle with good and evil are skillfully woven throughout allegorically.  It’s magical really.  You can read the whole series and see God everywhere or you can read it and not see God but you are left wondering about a Creator of the universe.

The Magician’s Nephew tells how Digory (the nephew) discovers Narnia as it is being created by Aslan the Lion.  However, Digory unwittingly brings the Witch (evil) into the world at the very beginning.  The Magician who forced Digory to time travel cannot hear the Lion’s voice.  Aslan explains why:

“This world is bursting with life for these few days….But I cannot tell that to this old sinner, and I cannot comfort him either; he has made himself unable to hear my voice.  If I spoke to him, he would hear only growlings and roarings.  Oh Adam’s sons, how cleverly you defend yourself against all that may do you good!”

I LOVED this.  Absolutely loved it!

For I think:  how often God does speak to us but we cannot hear Him?  How we have made ourselves unable to hear and we do only hear growlings and roarings.  How God only wants good for us but we somehow misconstrue the message by our own actions and Free Will.  How we are so consumed by something miniscule in our lives that God’s voice is blocked.

Then Aslan gives the Magician the one gift he is able to receive:  the gift of sleep.

This struck me as well since many times over the past year I have gone to sleep just so my mind would rest.  Just so the growlings and the roarings would stop and I’d have a chance to hear God speak.

These books are classics, timeless, and ingenious.  This is something I strive for in my writings.  Making God seen and teaching life’s lessons to those who desperately need to hear it.  To both believers and non-believers.  As I needed to hear this one.

I cannot recommend all of these books enough.