Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Encounters with the Lion

I have made no secret of my love for movies and stories. Nor of some of my favorites, The Chronicles of Narnia. Sunday night, The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe was on. I laughed. I cried. I made a spectacle of myself. It was a good thing I was alone. Think the scene in the movie Elf when the announcement is made that Santa is coming. Remember Buddy’s reaction? Well, that’s what I looked & sounded like.

Anyway, the reason for this post is a particular scene. Peter, Susan & Lucy look up and see that their brother Edmund has been rescued from his disastrous collaboration with the White Witch. Edmund is standing on top of a hill having a serious conversation with Aslan (I know Him. I know Him.). As a writer & drama director it is a beautiful and emotional scene. C.S. Lewis never tells us what was said between Edmund & Aslan. Only that the past is in the past. When I watched that scene, one word came to me, “Encounters.” Encounters with the Lion.

No one who had an encounter with the Lion came away unchanged. The mere mention of His name was enough to evoke strong emotions. Coming face to face with Him changed each one who stood next to Him. Lucy found courage in Prince Caspian. DLF found truth. Eustace found character in Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Jill found purpose in The Silver Chair. Digory, or the Professor, found healing in The Magician’s Nephew. Shasta found peace as well as his heritage in The Horse and his Boy. Puzzle found truth in The Last Battle. And Edmund? What did he find in his encounter with the Lion? Edmund found forgiveness and restoration. The Lion, Himself, was sacrificed just for Edmund. What greater gift could he have received? After Lucy, Edmund must be my next favorite character. He became a mighty and just King. He understood grace and mercy in a way that one who has not received them cannot understand. Edmund’s story tells us that there is no deception too great, no desertion too immoral that grace and mercy cannot cover.

Am I talking about a children’s storybook? No. Aslan is Narnia’s version of Jesus. Just as Aslan took Edmund’s death upon Himself, so did Jesus take our death upon Himself. There is nothing you have done that His death and resurrection cannot cover! His mercy and grace can cover you if you just allow them. Just as Edmund was changed by that encounter with the Lion, so you can be changed by an encounter with Jesus Christ.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Things you can do while drinking your orange juice...

In Sunday School this morning, Cindy Harless, brought up a valid question. Can you glorify God while drinking your orange juice? And if you can, how? So when we are running on auto-pilot and just following our routine, can we glorify God? 'Talk amongst yourselves' That only works if you imagine a strong Bronx accent when you read that quote :D In a related story, Lisa & I went to Stadium Fest yesterday & heard Chris Tomlin & Louie Giglio. Louie spoke about the one question we can ask God that He never (& can never) says no to.


In the course of my life, I've asked many things of God. I begged Him to heal me so that I wouldn't have to have a hysterectomy. I've begged Him to restore ones I've loved to health. I've asked Him to move my New York family back down South. His answer to these questions were all the same. No. That doesn't sound like a happy ending does it? And all He asks of me is that I continue to trust Him through His no's. Easier said than done, but where else would I turn? And like me, I'm sure you've tried to find other ways to turn. But a difficult life with Him is far better than an easy life without Him. I say this because I know it to be true. I've lived it.


Back to that question that He can't say no to. That question is this, "Will you be glorified in all that I do?" His answer is an unequivocal and resounding yes! Now how do we make this happen? What can drinking OJ do to glorify God? It may be just a simple as declaring Him Lord of our lives. If we aren't willing to make Him Lord while doing something as simple as drinking a glass of juice, are we really willing to have Him Lord over our relationships? Over our jobs? Over our major decisions? So that's how it happens. Give Him your orange juice, and He'll give you a future.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

LOTR

It's Saturday night & the tv in my den has been on the same channel all day. TNT is running a marathon of The Lord of the Rings. Now, if you don't know, Lisa & I own the extended 2-disc collections. All three of them. So why are we watching the televised, cut up by commercials, and with parts deleted? Got me. Besides it'll be off in a few minutes & the ring is burning as I write! There's Frodo, hanging off the ledge & Sam begging him to take his hand. I LOVE these movies! There, the ring is destroyed and the tower is falling! Mordor falls! Mount Doom is overflowing with lava & Frodo's friends realize that he & Sam are right in the middle of its destruction.


There are so many beautiful lessons in these stories, so much to learn if we will only listen. My brother as preached a sermon on the conversation between the two Hobbits and the slopes of Mount Doom. Mother wants Gandalf's monologue to Pippen about death to be spoken at her funeral. The sacrifices and quests of the characters are so great. The evil so strong. Yet men, elves, dwarfs & Hobbits overcome and save the world that is Middle Earth. If I were a better person, I would prefer the books. I'm not. So, I take the easy way out & enjoy the 6 hours of the edited version as well as the 12 hours of the extended version.


Do I understand between fact & fiction? Maybe, maybe not. But I do know that there are so many ways to understand our Lord by watching these movies. He never promised us that we would have an easy road. He never promised that there would be no resistance or evil against us. He never promised that our 'fellowship' or dearly loved ones would not turn against us. He never said that we would not be tempted, at the end, to drop the quest and cling to the evil that we have fought so hard to overcome. No, He just promised that He would never leave us or forsake us. We don't walk this path or travel this quest alone! He stays closer than a brother to us. Or if you will, closer than Sam. If you don't believe me, watch the movies. Listen for those lines. Hear His promises in them. Or, better yet, read His Book. They are all there.


"I'm glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee,

here at the end of all things."

Frodo Baggins

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Easter 2009




Crucified.

Laid behind a stone.

You lived to die,

rejected and alone.

You took the fall,

and thought of me

above all.