Thanks Aslan (and Clive)


I enjoy reading to my kids. Last year, I tried reading The Hobbit to Adam (age 6). We got about halfway through it, and I could tell he was losing interest. So Tolkien was shelved for C.S. Lewis.

We started with The Magician's Nephew, which was good - but didn't contain as much adventure to capture a young boy's attention. We still finished it. We have now been reading the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Adam has engaged with this book so much, that he now claims it his favorite.

Last night we read the section where Aslan is killed, after negotiating his life with the White Witch, in order to spare the life of Edmund. Adam was stunned that Aslan would do that, especially since Edmund had been so bad earlier in the story.

He also couldn't figure out why Aslan just didn't kill the witch and all her followers, and make everything ok.

I spent the next 10 minutes explaining that this was his plan. For some reason Aslan chooses to sacrifice his life for the life of Edmund. This is what love us, to sacrifice for the well being of others. Adam sat in silence for a long time, and then said... so the lion has to die?

Yes - the lion has to die in order to save the life of someone who didn't deserve forgiveness or a second chance.

We didn't continue our conversation further into more technical theories of the atonement. I was just happy that the seed had been planted in my son's mind.

Also, we haven't finished the story - I can't wait to hear what Adam has to say at the resurrection of Aslan.

So, thanks Clive, for using your literary skills to write a grown up story for children. Your words connect the mind of a 6 yr. old boy in Metro Vancouver to the Grand Story that the Master Story Teller is still writing.

Additional note - every Monday and Wednesday morning, parents are allowed to come into the classroom and read to their kids. This morning Felicia went in. She was about to start reading, when Adam informed all the other boys sitting in a semi-circle, that "the lion dies". One boy said - yeah - in the lion king, the lion dies. Adam retorted -

"No, Aslan dies, so that others could live."

The kids sat and digested that in silence.

Comments

Paul said…
That's funny coincidence, we been reading the Narnia series with our oldest boy (7) he loves the series!
6:07 PM
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