The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I meant to write this a long time ago, like before winter break ago haha. So, if you forgot what part I'm talking about, go read it here.


I love the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, its definitely one of my favorites from the Chronicles of Narnia, tied with the Horse and his Boy. I love the story, the characters, Lucy and Edmund are definitely my favorite of the children, so I like that its mainly them.  I could read this book over and over I think. I could read them all over and over.


But the main reason that I love it is because of the part that I posted forever ago, where Eustace talks about how Aslan turned him back into a boy.


I love this scene because this is my story. If you know Jesus, than this is all of our story. Jesus did what we couldn't. We were covered in the dead scales of our sin, and no matter how hard we try to scratch and pull them off, we just can't. It doesn't matter how many new year's resolutions we make, how hard we try to be different, to be nice, to be generous, etc, it doesn't make any difference because the scales are not just covering what we are, they are who we are. It takes Jesus coming and pulling them off of us, cutting us deep in order to make us new. No matter how much Eustace tried, he could not get the scales off on his own, they kept growing back. The problem was not the outward appearance of scales, the problem was that he was still a dragon. Aslan had to make him not a dragon in order for the scales to be gone.


And it hurts. Eustace says, "it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt." Jesus wants to break us of all the sinful things that are keeping us from Him and make us like Himself, but that is not going to be a pleasant experience. It means giving up the things that we hold dearly to: our lives, our possessions, our pride, etc. and letting Him replace those things in our hearts. And it hurts, but with our eyes on Jesus, its a good kind of hurt, because we can know that it is all for the sake of being like the one who loves us enough to die a brutal death. If we love Jesus and want to be like Him, yes it will hurt as our sinfulness is pulled out of us, but it will be oh so wonderful as we watch ourselves becoming more and more like our God.

I also love what CS Lewis says at the end of this chapter, I didn't post it. Basically, because of meeting Aslan, Eustace became a completely different person. He was kind, brave, and he thought about others before himself. But at the end of this chapter, Lewis writes that although he was different, he did occasionally slip back into his old ways. I love this, because the change that comes through Christ is a process. I am more like Christ now than I was 3 years ago, but I still sin, I still mess up. I'm still bratty and selfish and so prideful. Life with Christ is a process, where He gradually makes us more like Him, until finally, when we get to heaven, the work is complete and we are a new person.



I think that it is important to remember that the change in Eustace came not from his own willpower and not because he spent time as a dragon, he changed because he met Aslan. He changed because Aslan changed him. I think this is something that if you have seen the movie, they got really wrong. They made it come across like as a dragon, Eustace learned to be brave and then as a reward for his bravery, Aslan turned him back into a boy. It is the exact opposite. Eustace met Aslan and so everything changed for him. It was nothing that he did for himself. He tried, but he couldn't do it on his own.


Finally, on a not serious note- I love that Eustace and Edmund have a nice teenage boy moment, talking about picking off scabs. That's what I love about Lewis's writing- it feels so real and those characters seem like real teenage boys. Because in my head, they are real teenage boys.


Thank-you for reading all of my ramblings recently. I will probably have more to come. I feel like this semester is going to be a time where God teaches me a whole lot and I can't wait to share these things with you.