"Safe? ... Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good."
I probably wouldn't get too much of an argument if I was to "go out on
a limb" and claim that C.S. Lewis was one of the most influential
Christian theologians of the 20th century. His book Mere Christianity
should be mandatory reading for any Christian.
But the quote
that forms the title of this article isn't from any of his theology
books, at least not on the surface. This is a quote from the one book
that C.S. Lewis is most famous for, the children's story The Lion, the
Witch, and the Wardrobe.
In his famous novel, C.S. Lewis
tells the story of four children who walk through an old wardrobe and
are magically whisked away to the mystical land of Narnia. Inside
Narnia they find a snowy land, talking animals, the evil White Witch,
and a lion named Aslan.
If you know anything at all about
Christian theology, it isn't hard to spot the obvious imagery
throughout the book. One of the children, Edmund, strikes a deal with
the evil witch, agreeing to betray his siblings. Under the law of the
land, the penalty he must pay for this treachery is death. But just in
the nick of time, the great Lion Aslan agrees to take Edmund's place.
He agrees to suffer the penalty that would properly lie on Edmund. So
the White Witch humiliates Aslan, cutting off his mane and tying him to
a stone altar. Then comes the killing stroke. As two of the children
watch, the witch kills the great lion.
But it wouldn't be
much of a story if it ended there. Shortly after Aslan is killed, the
altar breaks in two and Aslan returns to life. It seems the White
Witch was unaware of old magic that said that "when a willing victim
who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the
Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards."
Does this sound at all familiar? We all deserve death. But Jesus,
who was without sin, agreed to suffer death in our place. Jesus then
returned to life and as a result death is reversed for all believers.
We all get to enjoy eternal life.
Aslan is a pretty obvious
figure of Christ. But what I found most fascinating when I first read
this book was a conversation that took place between the children and
Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. It happened soon after all four children came to
Narnia together. They met a talking Beaver and agreed to accompany him
back to his house where they enjoyed a lovely dinner Mrs. Beaver had
prepared. After dinner, the conversation turned to Aslan. The
children had never met Aslan before and didn't quite know what to make
of him. After all, they were just starting to grow accustomed to
talking animals. Mr. Beaver had just told the children that he was
going to take them to see Aslan when the youngest child, Lucy, asked if
Aslan was a man.
"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly
not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great
Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts?
Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh!" said Susan. "I thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver; "if there's
anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking,
they're either braver than most or else just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "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."
Of course He isn't safe. But He is good.
Remember that
C.S. Lewis is describing Christ here. He is telling us that Christ is
NOT safe. But He is good. What can he possibly mean by that? We all
have this picture of Jesus as this ever-loving savior who will hold us
in His arms. How can that picture not be safe?
The way I
see it, there are at least two possible messages C.S. Lewis could have
been teaching here. The first is a bit more obvious and is primarily
directed at non-believers. The second is a little subtler and has to
do with the effect Christ will have on the lives of believers. I'll
explain the first view briefly, but I want to spend most of this
article on the second.
Think for just a moment about the
impact Christ has upon non-believers. In order to be saved, you must
accept His sacrifice on your behalf. If you don't, if you reject
Christ, then you will suffer God's wrath. It never pays to reject
God. Just ask Pharaoh. In Moses' time, the Pharaoh of Egypt thought
of himself as a god. Not only that, but because the Hebrews served the
Egyptians, he felt that he was the god of the Hebrews. Now here come
Moses and Aaron claiming that they are speaking on behalf of the true
God of the Hebrews. Notice Pharaoh's reaction. "Who is the LORD, that
I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will
not let Israel go." Exodus 5:2. How dare you, Moses and Aaron, march
in here and challenge my authority as the god of the Hebrews. Israel
serves me, Pharaoh, and no other gods. I don't recognize the authority
of this "Yahweh" you are talking about.
Pharaoh rejected
God, and he paid the price in the form of ten plagues, ultimately
concluding in the death of every firstborn in Egypt, including
Pharaoh's own son. Does it sound like God was "safe" for Pharaoh?
Do you think Christ was "safe" to the merchants and money changers in the temple courts?
When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went
up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle,
sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he
made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both
sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and
overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, "Get these
out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"
John 2:13-16
We do well to remember that yes, God is loving, but He also has a
righteous anger when He is wronged. To those who openly reject Him, He
is definitely not safe.
But most of the people reading this
article probably do not fall under the category of "non-believer." We
have accepted Christ's sacrifice on our behalf, so ultimately we will
be saved from the anger God reserves for those who reject Him. Is this
all that C.S. Lewis was describing, or is there anything in Mr.
Beaver's observation about Aslan that speaks to those of us already in
the church?
For a very different reason, accepting Christ as
our Lord and Savior also is not safe, and we walk a dangerous path when
we try to make it so. Let me explain.
The Bible is clear
that we all have a sinful nature. Paul even describes himself at one
point as "a slave to the law of sin." Romans 7:25. We all become
entrenched in the customs of this world. We like our lifestyles. We
like our friends. We seek approval from those around us. This human
propensity is hard to let go. But we have to understand that once we
accept Christ, our loyalty has to be to God's law, not the approval of
society. In fact, obedience to Christ often will lead to the stern
disapproval of those around us. When we become defenders of Christ, it
may cause us to lose those things that we hold most dear. Our family
or closest friends may think we've gone off the deep end, and may even
reject us. Even worse, being a defender of Christ may cost us our very
lives. Contrary to what many "abundance" preachers claim today, God
does not promise us that life will be all warm and cozy after we accept
Christ as our Lord and Savior. In many instances, obedience to God has
come with a great price.
Look at God's servants throughout
time. What happened to His spokesmen of the Old Testament, the judges
and the prophets? The author of Hebrews gives us a poignant
description.
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell
about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,
who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained
what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of
the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was
turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed
foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again.
Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might
gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still
others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were
sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in
sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated - the
world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains,
and in caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended
for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God
had planned something better for us so that only together with us would
they be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:32-40
So those who served God under the Old Covenant were stoned, sawed
in two or put to death by the sword. Does this sound like prosperity
to you? Bear in mind that this did not happen to all of God's
servants. David died at a ripe old age after a life that took him from
a poor shepherd to the king of the united kingdom of Israel. But we
have to be prepared for the fact that God may call on us to give up so
much for the honor of His name. God does not say it will happen, but
it may.
What about the servants of the New Covenant? Look
at how the apostle Paul describes his travails. The specific context
is that several false preachers have infected the church of Corinth
with their faulty theology. In an effort to move the people away from
Paul, they have boasted in their own "credentials." Reluctantly, but
necessarily, Paul then vehemently (and sometimes sarcastically) lists
his own "credentials."
I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you
do, then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little
boasting. In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord
would, but as a fool. Since many are boasting in the way the world
does, I too will boast. You gladly put up with fools since you are so
wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or
exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or
slaps you in the face. To my shame I admit that we were too weak for
that.
What anyone else dares to boast about - I am speaking as a
fool - I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are
they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I.
Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.)
I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently,
been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three
times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was
shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been
constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger
from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from
Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at
sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and
have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have
often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides
everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the
churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin,
and I do not inwardly burn?
If I must boast, I will boast of the
things that show my weakness. The God and father of the Lord Jesus,
who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus
the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded
in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in
the wall and slipped through his hands.
2 Corinthians 11:16-33
Does "prosperity" include being flogged repeatedly, stoned, beaten
with rods, and being "exposed to death again and again"? I think Paul
would have a bone to pick with anyone who tried to tell him that the
gospel of Jesus Christ brings prosperity to believers in this life.
The errors with the "prosperity gospel" are pretty obvious, but the
lesson I am taking from C.S. Lewis' novel is more far reaching, and
extends into many of the more "mainstream" churches today (including, I
regret to say, my own denomination of the PCUSA). To illustrate, let
me walk you through the spiritual journey of a fictional man named
"Joe". While fictional, this journey mirrors the path of most people
who are saved.
Joe grew up as a typical guy by human
standards. He got decent grades, played high school sports and was
pretty popular. He was nice to the people he knew, so his friends
considered him to be a decent guy. If he had died in his youth, he
would have had some pretty powerful eulogies by those who were close to
him. He didn't really pay much attention to the needs of anyone he
didn't know personally, but within the circle of friends that society
would say he had a moral obligation to, he did the right thing.
As he grew older and went through college, he became somewhat of a
party man. He went out every Friday and Saturday night (and sometimes
Thursdays) and felt that the more he had to drink the more fun he was
having. He even "got lucky" a few times, especially when his "mark"
had also consumed quite a bit of alcohol so her defenses were down. He
and his fraternity brothers used to have "porn" parties were they would
get together, drink beer, and make fun of pornographic films. This was
all considered to be in good fun. He never saw anything wrong with the
way he lived his life because nothing he did was morally frowned upon
by any of those within his social circle.
Then he met
someone who introduced him to Christ. He found out that mankind is
inherently sinful and in rebellion against God. He learned that we are
slaves to our sin and can only escape this inevitable cycle with the
help of the Holy Spirit. Finally, he repented and asked Christ for
forgiveness.
The key point to this article is what happens
next. Joe realizes that because of his newfound faith in Christ, he
has to give up a lot of the things he had come to cherish in his former
life. He had to give up his old self and let Christ make him into a
new person. In the words of the group Mercy Me in their song So Long Self:
So long self, well it's been fun but I have found somebody else.
So long self, there's just no room for two so you are gonna have to move.
So long self, don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me,
Farewell, oh well, goodbye, don't cry.
Oh so long self.
Joe
had to give up his sexual lifestyle, his lack of concern for strangers,
and any number of other vices. It would likely cost him some of his
old fraternity friends who would think he had become some kind of
"Jesus freak". If he publicly expressed his opinions on any social
issues, the value of his opinion would be automatically diminished in
the eyes of anyone who heard him because he was too "biased" in his
religious beliefs. His family may even turn their backs on him. But
it was the price he had to pay for Jesus.
Basically, his entire person had to change, no matter the cost. And that's exactly what he did.
These changes are not easy to take. We want to be accepted by our
friends and family. We don't want our lifestyles to change. The
result is that when many people learn about Christ, they want to "have
their cake and eat it to." They want to welcome Jesus into their
lives, but also to keep their friends and keep on living as they always
have. In the case of Joe, this would mean he would want to be a
Christian, but keep up the womanizing, excessive drinking, partying,
etc. This change in lifestyle is an essential step in becoming a
Christian, but unfortunately it is a step that many people refuse to
take. The result is liberal theology.
Far too often in the
Christian church today we see people ignoring the explicit prohibitions
of scripture, and instead trying to interpret implicit passages from
the Bible to support whatever lifestyle they have been living prior to
learning about Jesus. Any respected Biblical scholar would tell you
that when you interpret scripture, you should always interpret the
implicit in light of the explicit, not vice versa. But unfortunately,
when the explicit tells people that they need to change their
lifestyle, they don't like it. So they start looking for implicit
passages that they can use to fool themselves into believing that God
says their old sinful lifestyle is really okay. This is true for any
of a variety of sins, whether it be idolizing money instead of God,
extra-marital sex (either hetero- or homosexual), vanity, or anything
else God tells us to avoid.
The temptation is to make God
"safe". God is not safe, not even for believers. You are going to
have to be willing to step outside your sheltered existence. But many
people, consciously or unconsciously, do not want to accept this. They
feel safe in their current environment and they have grown attached to
it. They don't want to leave it behind. They want their acceptance of
Christ to be safe. By believing, they have disregarded C.S. Lewis'
warning. Christ is not safe. Any effort to make Him so is ignoring
God's will for your life. Don't be afraid to step outside your "safety
zone."
Any discussion on this topic cannot close without
remembering how Mr. Beaver finished his comment. He did not just say,
"He's not safe" and end there. He went on to say, "But he's good." We
can better accept the fact that Christ is not safe for our lifestyles
when we also realize that He is good. Look at how the author of
Hebrews closed his comments. After discussing all the misery that
befell the judges and prophets, he said, "These were all commended for
their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had
planned something better for us so that only together with us would
they be made perfect." God is good. As a result, those of us who have
accepted Christ's sacrifice will be rewarded with "something better"
and will be "made perfect" after this life ends. It is out of
gratitude for this reward that we live as Christ wants us to live. The
knowledge of what is to come in the next life certainly makes it easier
to deal with whatever sufferings God asks us to undergo in this life.
So don't ever try to make God safe. Don't let your attachment to your
life get in the way of listening to what God is saying to you. If
scripture explicitly says something, God means it. Listen to Him. If
you ever find yourself trying to "explain away" scripture, understand
that what you are really doing is putting your own personal morality
ahead of God's. Nothing good can ever come of this.
But if
God is asking you to take on some burden in your life, remember that
this life is only temporary. We do what God wants us to do now and get
to rest later. Think of it like trying to make it through your
workweek so that you can rest on the weekend. The difference is that
with Christ, our "weekend" will never end. Jesus is not safe, but He
is good. Thank God for that.
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