Thoughts today about a lion

I love reading, especially fiction, some of which seems meant to bring me truth.  Much of the time the writer portrays in a new way, something very familiar.  In C.S. Lewis’ book, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, we read the following quote.

Many of us have enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis.  And many of us have pictured Lewis’ description of Aslan, as a representation or a picture of our Savior, Jesus.

 Those are interesting thought pictures.  Were they correct?  Is Lewis’ Aslan really representative of Jesus?  Is Jesus safe (tame); is Jesus good?  Of course, there is no question in my own mind that Jesus is God and God is good and God is King!

 Since the question of a “good” God keeps coming up in discussions of tragedy and pain, I decided to consider the idea of trusting God in His “goodness.”  Must whatever we believe comes from God,  match our own limited view of “goodness”? 

Do we think that “Good” means being good for me at this present time – good, as in pleasant, or harmless, or painless? 

We cannot understand the mind of Christ. We are not God. The key is found in scripture.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 
neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  Isaiah 55:8 (KJV)

But, if we ask whether God is safe, as Susan asked, referring to the lion in the quote above, the answer is definitely yes. God is safe.  Safety is found nowhere else.  We can appeal to Him.  We can ask for His help.  We can ask, and He will grant those things that He knows are “meant for His good.”  

But God is not tame – He cannot be led around, manipulated, or trained.  He is definitely not tame.  He is God – The King. 

Lewis’ writings are not scripture, but as with other writings by excellent authors, we may be able to learn something, or possibly picture something that wasn’t clear to us before reading them.  In addition, the questions asked in a particular story are questions that people ask in many different ways, questions to which we sometimes erroneously believe the easy answers. 

Is God good, can we trust Him?  Yes, the scriptures tell us that God is good!  He is kind.  He is upright.  He is our place of refuge, and He blesses us.  We read in the scriptures: 

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
Psalm 118:29 (NASB) 

“Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore, He instructs sinners in the way.”
  Psalm 25:8 (ESV) 

“O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”  Psalm 34:8 (ESV) 

This scripture decries the notion that God can be tamed.  He cannot be controlled.  He is beyond our human understanding. 

“By His breath the heavens are cleared; 
His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.
Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; 
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”  
Deuteronomy 32:4  (NASB) 

“Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”  
Isaiah 40:28  (ESV) 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9  (NIV) 

Whether C.S. Lewis endeavored to describe our God in his writings, 

I don’t know.  I do know that God shows His works and His worth in many ways.   But without a doubt, God is not a lion, a fictional character, or any man or woman’s idea.
 
He is
 the almighty, eternal,
invisible, creator,
the one who loves each one of us - His children.
And He is Good.