I'm really glad He did that

The kids and I have been reading the Narnia books at bedtime and nap time, as we get the chance. Today, I read to them a bit for a resting sort of down time, and I have to say that it affected me more than I ever expected it could.

I read to them the part where the witch demands Edmund's life, because he was a traitor...
where Aslan, unbeknown to any of the others, commits to give his own blood, his own life, in exchange for Edmund's... where Aslan walks slowly to the table to offer himself in exchange for the boy's... where the girls walk alongside him, and he asks them to hold onto him, just to know they are there... when he submits to the hand of his enemies, willingly, without resistance or retaliation, and he is humiliated, and tortured and devalued and mistreated. And all the while, my heart swelled with grief, knowing that Jesus endured His own, much worse, much more real version of this; knowing that I am Edmund - I am the traitor, the sinner, the imperfect one; that it's my life that has been demanded because of my sins, and it was His life that He gave in exchange for my own. And I felt just a glimpse of the sorrow, the loneliness, the hurt, and the heaviness that He must have felt. And tears welled in my eyes, and I had to stop reading for a moment, because I know He endured that for me.

And I could relate to the girls in the book who wanted so badly to reach out and grab a hold of him, and who were so relieved to finally be able to touch him and run their hands through his mane. And I imagined the indignation they felt as they watched him endure all that he endured; as they watched him give his life.

And I felt triumphant as the Queen laughed and gloated, knowing that she had no idea whom she was really dealing with; that her triumph and victory would be wholly temporary. And I filled with praise for my God, Who seemingly gave Himself up to death, yet in it all was victorious over his enemy and over death itself. What a glorious moment it must have been when Satan realized his defeat after all! And I felt a fresh surge of victory, knowing that the enemy of my soul has been defeated, and his reign in our own Narnia will soon come to an end - his winter will melt away, and a new world, a fresh world, filled with the love and the goodness of God will take its place.

We've gotten most of the way through the second book so far, and until today, I've never explained to my children that this is an allegorical story. I've never told them that Aslan represents Jesus, or any of that. But today, mid-chapter, I stopped reading, and felt so entirely compelled to explain this all to them. I told them Aslan was like Jesus; the witch like the devil; Edmund like each of us... I explained that the Bible says that when we sin - when we lie, or feel hatred toward someone, or disobey our parents, or say a nasty thing, or take something that's not ours, or want something that someone else has - the payment for that is our lives. But Jesus chose to give His life, His blood, in place of ours. His blood and His life has already paid for every mistake we have every, or will ever make. We just need to thank Him for doing that, and live our lives in a way that is always telling Him thank you for what He did for us.

As I spoke, Sebastian listened intently... He listened as I talked about the cost of sin in our lives. He said at one point, "I was really worried until you said that Jesus already did that for us. I'm really glad He did that." While I recognize that this is a gross understatement, all I can say to that is "Me too."