Child-like Heart

C.S. Lewis uses many characters to represent multiple things in his Chronicles of Narnia. Aslan represents God/Jesus. The White Witch as the devil or just the essence of evil. Now, I think Lucy, at least in my eyes, represents a child’s view of life, death, and eternity. Now when I was a kid myself I always wondered why Lucy always saw Aslan first, and was the most believing in all situations. Well let me take you through my own theory on this one.

Now first off, I’m a Christian and this is my warning to those who are not Christian and do not want to read something that is very driven by Christianity. Now that I have that through with, let me point out a little part of the New Testament. The bad thing is that I can’t remember exactly where, but one day while Jesus and the Disciples were traveling and Jesus was ministering and healing those in need. Some children came running up to Jesus and played with him, now the Disciples yelled at the children and told them to leave. Jesus told them to stop and that children have as much place in heaven as adults do. Now the point isn’t that, but the fact that children came running up to him to play with him. Do not Lucy and Susan see Aslan that way and just want to bury their faces in his Aslan’s mane? Remember the romp between the three of them after Aslan returned from the dead at the stone table? I think that scene represents this side of Jesus that Lewis saw. Which is a part of the reason why I think he wrote these books as allegories for his nephew and nieces. Lewis’s point is to connect them with the reality that Jesus loves you. He has a special place for children in his heart.

Lucy was the first one through the wardrobe, as we all know. She is the youngest of the Pevensie children. She is the most imaginative of the four and desires something more in her life. Now Lewis does not let Peter and Susan back in Narnia after Prince Caspian, this is due to their age being too old. Again, this is another example of why youth plays an important role in Lewis’s created Narnia. Now I would say that Lucy is the most innocent and loving of the four kids. She has the personality that wants to be right and just with all. She would not want to hurt a soul that is either human or beast. She represents the mind of a gentle child. It is her way of thinking that allows her to see Aslan first every time I believe. She so blindly believes that he is a good lion and will not hurt her. She has an intuition; nay I say a child-like intuition, in which she knows deep down that he is good. She is frightened of him, but even so she is not fearful of her own self.

Now why do I think it matters how old she is, and why she is the first always due to age? Well its quite simple Lewis makes it rather apparent in the books. Now remember that Peter and Susan were not able to come back due to age; well just think about the voyage of the Dawn Treader. Do you remember when she first encounters Aslan? It was after she reads the spell out of the Magicians book. He comes walking up besides her, and she asks him where has he been this whole time, and he said here, you just made me visible. She has become older, and like her older siblings, is unable to see him really. You might say it was the spell that the Dufflepods put on themselves that did it, but I truly believe he was not there and is above that. Now she was not able to see him due to age, but had to counter a spell to see him. She has become older and her heart is not as believing. She may love him as much as she always has, but as we all grow older it is harder for us to be as believing in what might seem the impossible.

We grow more cynical with age and we tend to think about things more until we almost disbelieve what we use to believe. That is why you will see so many Christians lose their faith once they reach the college years then regain it later. Another thing is that statistics show that if you are not saved as a Christian by your junior high years, chances are you won’t ever become one. It is sad, but as we grow older our view of the world changes and we lose what could be the greatest thing we have. We become bigger than ourselves. We lose our imaginations and our ability to believe in something greater than our own being. Now then why do people come back to being Christians after they left it? Well sometimes its circumstances that push them in that direction. I think there is also the possibility that they realize life isn’t all about them. In today’s society we are a very self-focused group of people. Therefore God is being pushed out of the equation. Now I was realizing this while I was in Germany and I wrote a song about it. So I will just end this with that.

Be My Father

Lord I ask that you
Remake me
A child in your midst
With a faithful heart

I have grown
And withered in this world
Rejuvenate me
Refresh my soul

Help me to let go

Of fear that binds me
Release my worldly cares
How I want to love you

Show me what worship is
That it’s more than just song
But the exaltations of my heart
That I may give you all of me

I want this fearless love
This childlike faith
To soar with heavenly doves
I wish to see Heavens Gate

May I walk the valley
With you by my side
Hold my hand
And be my father

Hope you enjoyed this song and editorial. Just a lost thought. If you are still young and young at heart, God bless you and do not wish your life away to adulthood. Cherish it for all that its worth, because its worth more than any old age is. Now for those of us that are aging, keep fighting your age. Do not become so cynical and just learn to love and enjoy life while you still have it.