In case you're unfamiliar with The Dawn Treader, I'll give you a brief rundown. Edmund, Lucy, and their annoying brat cousin, Eustace Clarence Scrubb (what a name! "And he almost deserved it.") are brought into Narnia while King Caspian and his men are on a noble quest to discover what happened to seven faithful lords of Narnia as they sailed east and to find Aslan's country. Edmund and Lucy are, of course, ecstatic at the reality of being back in Narnia. Eustace, on the other hand, is not . . . to put it mildly. This spoiled boy who has always gotten what he wants has no way to get out of Narnia, which he so desperately wants. So, he pouts, complains, and is a real pain to all those on board the Dawn Treader.
After surviving nearly two weeks in the eye of a hurricane, the ship docks on an unknown island. There's a brief rest and meal, but then everyone sets out to repair the ship. Everyone but Eustace, that is. In short, the boy sneaks off for a nap, ends up finding a dragon's cave filled with treasure, and because of his own greedy, dragon-ish thoughts, becomes a dragon as he sleeps. This poses a real problem to everyone involved when it was time to leave the island: what were they to do about Eustace? He couldn't exactly fit on the ship, and would he be able to fly along with the ship?
Such a dilemma can only be solved by one: Aslan. During the night, the Lion leads the dragon Eustace to a pool. Before Eustace can enter for a bath, however, Aslan tells the boy-dragon that he must undress first. Three times, Eustace tries to shed his dragon layers . . . and three times, he is disappointed to find that there is yet more dragon underneath. Finally, Aslan informs Eustace that he must do it. The pain of Aslan's deep cuts hurts incredibly, but, Eustace's dragon skin is finally completely removed and he is a boy once again.
All of Eustace's efforts to get rid of his skin failed. Similarly, all of our own efforts to get rid of our sin fail. Only Aslan could remove Eustace's dragon skin. Only Jesus can remove our vile sin. The process to become a boy again was painful for Eustace; the process to shed our sinful nature and become more like Jesus will be difficult. But it will definitely be worth it!
"'Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain . . . '" (Hosea 6:1-3)
This song is written by Kendall Payne. The lyrics wonderfully capture the truth of our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ. May you be encouraged through it as I was - and may you become more like Jesus each and every day.
This might be the most powerful post I've read on this blog. Thank you so much for sharing it Sarah!
ReplyDeleteOH Sarah! I whole-heartedly agree with this. I have loved the imagery that CS Lewis puts in his books - they are such a great comparison to our lives in Christ. I just listened to it on CD this fall. Such a fantastic reminder at our need for Him and our need to fully obey.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this!
~Naomi T.