That means evil is not something Aslan created. It is something that entered Narnia from outside the created order.
This is what we know of the problem of evil: evil does not come from God. We're not sure where it comes from, if truth be told, but we know it is not something God made or intended for us to live with and in. The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds explains the problem of evil similarly. Someone, we don't know who or from where, comes while everyone is asleep to sow weeds among the wheat. While this parable tells us we don't really know where evil comes from, it also gives us hope, because evil does not win out in the end. Thankfully, in The Magician's Nephew, we know that evil won't win right from the beginning.
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Please note, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is rated TV-14. Major Spoilers Ahead for the Season Finale! At the beginning of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson finds a young hacker in the middle of a life of crime and brings her on board to do some good and save the world. That young hacker is who we all come to know as Daisy Johnson. In Season 7, Kora, Daisy's sister, is working for Hydra as a villain until Coulson gives her a reason not to. Then to help her reform, Daisy goes off into the far reaches of space to explore with her sister. Coulson helped Daisy turn from crime to be a force of good. Daisy is now doing the same with her sister. We might say she's "paying forward" the good Coulson did for her. Jesus showed us love and compassion in dying for our sins so that we could live a new life as a force of good. In many ways, we were just like Daisy and Kora at one point in time. Now, we thankfully have been given a new chance. Jesus tells the Disciples at the end of Matthew to "go and make disciples of all nations." In other words, they are called to help others receive the same gift of grace they have. We've been given a great gift. Like Daisy, it's time to pay it forward.
While Andrew does simmer down and mellows out in his old age, this is still a remarkable sentiment to have. It shows that we are responsible for one another as we care for them, especially when the other is a great trouble maker like Andrew.
In Genesis 4:9, Cain, after killing his brother Abel, asks God, "am I my brother's keeper?" The answer in Scripture to that question is certainly implied to be yes. In the case of Andrew and Digory's father, it is definitely so. It raises the question for us: how are we to take care and be responsible for others, even when those others cause us, or other people, harm? How can we be better stewards to our fellow human beings, especially those close by? Please note, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is rated TV-14 Major Spoilers for the Series Finale Ahead! But Seriously! The event we've been looking forward to all season has happened and Fitz has returned. Of course he's also got the plan to turn everything right. Unfortunately for our Agents, that plan hinges on an enemy being turned into a friend: Kora, Daisy's sister who had already been long dead in the original timeline. Unfortunately, the team hasn't managed to do that. Yet how Christian is it to transform an enemy to an ally, like Paul on the Road to Damascus? When our Agents find Kora and save her, they need her to send out a signal giving empathy to all the Chronicoms, the enemies S.H.I.E.L.D. has been fighting all season. Coulson gives her a pep talk saying: We're fighting for the very thing that gives us strength. Do you need me to tell you what that is? But she doesn't. Kora finds strength and helps them give empathy to the Chronicoms, helping end the conflict once and for all. Daisy, her sister, stays behind to sacrifice her life to save everyone (remind you of anyone?). As Daisy floats away in space, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team rescues her. Kara's powers at this point have mostly been used for destruction. Finally at this point in time, she uses them to bring Daisy back from the brink. Coulson says to her: This is what we were fighting for. Daisy responds by saying: Family. Those who know Scripture well will know that family is not the ultimate thing we need. Jesus, in fact, tells us that sometimes our faith will divide us from family. No, this scene would have been much more powerful if they had gone to what binds us together closer than even family: Love. Love is what brought our Lord Jesus Christ down to this earth to die for us and bring us closer to God, just as Daisy has helped bring Kora to the side of Good through her near-death. That is ultimately what I think the S.H.I.E.L.D. team was going for. After 7 seasons, these people are no longer teammates. They are something more. They are people who love each other and would do anything to fight for that love. Our God calls us to do the same.
It is thought that C.S. Lewis was referring here to the atomic bomb and World War II. That would certainly make a lot of sense.
But we should take heed of these words in every generation. Just as God speaks to all people in all times through Scripture, so we should see Aslan as speaking to all future generations as well. We always have the past and present to show us the terrors that we as the human race are capable of performing. At the same time, there is hope. Aslan allows for two humans, Frank and Helen, to remain and rule over Narnia. Aslan is willing to go so far as to take the worst of the evil Jadis has to offer directly and personally. Aslan would not allow another evil to remain, certainly not indefinitely. If Aslan is willing to have humans remain in Narnia, that means Aslan sees some hope that people can move past the horror of possibly unleashing the Deplorable Word. Why else even give a warning? How do we ensure that we are following the Helen and Frank and not Jadis? We must remember who our Lord was and is. Jesus wasn't one to lord power over others. He was born in the village, not the palace. Like Aslan, Jesus was willing to take the worst of evil on Himself. If we can follow Jesus and remember that ultimately the power of God is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 9:12), then we will have heeded the warning of the Lion well. Please note, Frozen II is rated PG. Frozen II revolves around the mysterious voice that calls out to Elsa at the beginning of the film. That voice leads Elsa, Ana, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf into the Enchanted Forest outside Arendelle to find some answers. While there, they encounter the Northuldra as well as soldiers from Arendelle who served under Elsa's and Ana's grandfather and were long thought to be dead. As they begin to learn more about the past between Northuldra and Arendelle, Elsa also learns more about the nature of magic. There are 4 known spirits of magic: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. But there is another one, unknown in nature, that is said to be the bridge between "people and the magic of nature." This 5th Spirit is very similar to Jesus. Jesus is the bridge between God and people. Just as in Frozen II, Jesus' role as a bridge is meant to help reconcile us with God. Jesus' role is one of renewal. It is also worth pointing out that God is also an unknown element in the world. Paul in Acts 17 points out to the Athenians that their altar "to an unknown god" is the very God he and his companions are proclaiming. God may be unknown to us at first, but our Lord wants to be known by us and to help reconcile us with God and one another. Like Elsa, we are called to learn the truth about our Lord, and to serve God by helping others cross that bridge back to reconciliation with the Lord.
However, as Aslan states: This is what would have happened, child, with a stolen apple. It is not what will happen now. What I give you now will bring joy. Digory has done his task. He has done his penance. He is owed nothing. Yet Aslan gives Digory this great gift anyways. This is the definition of grace. It is a gift undeserved, but given freely anyways. It comes only because of how much Aslan cares, and Aslan does care deeply. We will see the glorious results of this gift as we move into the final chapter of The Magician's Nephew.
Back in Chapter 10 and 11, Andrew encountered the talking animals of Narnia. The problem was that he tricked himself into believing that the animals were not talking, so all he could hear were growls. Because of his self deception, Andrew remained afraid of what the animals might do to him, so he stayed silent and still. This leads the animals to try to plant him as a tree and then present Andrew to Aslan. When Aslan is shown the final results, Polly asks: Please Aslan, could you say something to- to unfrighten him? And then could you say something to prevent him from ever coming back here again? Aslan's response is: Do you think he wants to? Aslan further states: Oh, Adam's sons, how cleverly you defend yourselves against all that might do you good! Andrew thought he was taking steps to ensure what was good for himself. Instead, he baffoonishly gets himself into a problem he cannot get out of on his own. A more serious way we see evil as its own worst enemy is with Jadis. Before, she took one of the magic apples that grants immortality and tried to tempt Digory with it. Because of her actions, she is now barred from entering Narnia. The reason she can no longer enter Narnia proper is because the smell of the apple is now loathsome to her. With the tree from the apple Digory planted, she will now be unable to enter Narnia as long as that tree continues to live. Aslan has this to say about her predicament: She has won her heart's desire; she has unwearying strength and endless days like a goddess. But length of days with an evil heart is only length of misery and already she begins to know it. All get what they want; they do not always like it. Jadis is a cautionary tale for all of us. Her ambition has succeeded in granting what she desired, but at what cost? She, like Andrew, may blind herself to the consequences, but that doesn't change the fact that she has only prolonged her misery. In the end, you often don't need an elaborate plan to take evil on. Evil often does that work for us itself.
This leads to Chapter 12 when Aslan asks Digory if he is "ready to undo the wrong that you have done to my sweet country of Narnia on the very day of its birth?" Now that Digory can see he has done wrong, Aslan is calling on him to make it right.
At this point Aslan has been very firm with Digory, although not undeservedly so. Aslan also shows compassion, as we see in Chapter 12 when Digory mentions his mother's illness. It is not that Aslan does not care about Digory nor is Aslan punishing him, but Aslan is pushing Digory to make up for his mistake. Aslan, however, does not leave Digory unequipped. He, in fact, provides Digory with companions to help him along the way. In Chapter 13, Digory undergoes more temptation by Jadis, but he ultimately prevails. The result is start of Chapter 14 when Aslan tells Digory, "Well done." This is the first time that Aslan has shown pleasure at something Digory has done. Digory is now in Aslan's good graces. Digory has redeemed himself. It doesn't change what Digory did, or the consequences of that action for himself and others. It does provide a way back into right relationship with Aslan for Digory, though. The path to redemption is never an easy one. We have to:
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The Rev. Trey KennedyHere is my take on how Superheroes and other characters can help us know God better. Categories
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