They sat staring into space as the foliage sped past outside the car windows. Not one of them stirred as all five sat focused on the story coming from the speakers beside them. Five little people eager for what would happen next – would they see the lion?
C.S. Lewis had created a magical moment for our family, and just as the battle between good and bad magic waged in their ears, I could see the understanding working it's magic in their hearts. When the beavers finally describe the Lion, Aslan, to the four Pevensie children in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lucy asks if he is safe? To which Mr. Beaver replies:
“Safe? Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
There was a sudden commotion in the back seat as my six-year old stretched to see over the bench in front of him and yell towards the front of the car: “Mom! the Lion is the King! like Jesus, the Lion of Judah, the King!”
Thank you C.S. Lewis!
3 Ways You Must Teach Your Kids to See the Lion
Here are 3 specific correlations children can make between the Lion, Aslan, in the Chronicles of Narnia series, and Jesus, and the reasons you must teach them to look for the Lion in their daily lives!
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See the Lion: Your Creator
In The Magician's Nephew, Lewis gives the back story to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. He answers our natural questions like,
- How did Narnia come to be?
- Where did the White Witch come from?
- How does the Wardrobe have magical powers?
The main character in The Magician's Nephew, a boy named Digory, witnesses Aslan's creation of the world of Narnia by the singing sound of his voice.
“A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. It was hardly a tune. But it was beyond comparison, the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.”
The Lion Vision Lessons:
We must teach our children to recognize that
- God is Creator of all.
- God's voice is sweet.
- And there is tremendous power in his breath and in his Word!
See the Lion: Your King
Seeing the Lion in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, as the King, knowing that he “is not safe”, but that “he is good”, takes away the wimpy impression most artists through the ages have given of Jesus. Another character in the story is heard to say:
“[I]f there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly.”
The Lion Vision Lessons:
- Our King is not a wimp or a weakling or a coward.
- He is strong and powerful.
- He is self-controlled.
- He can be gentle.
- He loves sacrificially.
- He took our place, paid the sin debt we owed, so the we could be pardoned.
- And he has power over even the darkest magic in the world!
When our children are struggling under the distractions of all that is wrong in the world, we must remind them to look for the Lion! To see God working in victory and fighting on our behalf. He is our Savior. Our good King!
See the Lion: Your Guide
In Prince Caspian, While the other children are busy worrying about being a better King, or practicing their art, Lucy is on the lookout for Aslan. The others are sure they know the way, but Aslan is seen by Lucy who runs to embrace him. The Lion tells Lucy to follow him, even if the others do not.
“Will the others see you too?” asked Lucy.
“Certainly not at first,” said Aslan. “Later on, it depends.”
“But they won’t believe me!” said Lucy.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Lion Vision Lessons:
- We must know him well enough to discern his guidance when the way is unclear.
- We must be willing to follow him, regardless of the cost.
We must teach our children to see God, discern his direction, even when there are distractions, and even when others are pulling us and trying to persuade us to go in different directions. We must know him well enough, that we cannot be swayed from following him, no matter who turns their back on us!
If your children learn to see the Lion in their everyday lives… If they grow to know him personally as their Savior and guide, HE can give them the strength and ability to learn any academics that might have fallen through the cracks while you were busy with this most important home-work of teaching them to “see the Lion”!
Academics is important, character is more important, but knowing God is the greatest treasure of all!
If you haven't read the Narnia books yet in your homeschool, I highly recommend them!
See the Lion Giveaway Has Ended
1 winner – Congrats to Anna L.
- Plush lion
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (picture book)
- Chronicles of Narnia audio cds set by Focus on the Family Radio Theater
- A Family Guide To Narnia: Biblical Truths in C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia by Christin Ditchfield (physical book)
- The Chronicles of Narnia official coloring book (physical book)