To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of fiction, but I heard Sr. Miriam James Heidland give this very compelling narrative at one of our Steubenville Conferences. It is such a great story and relates so much to my journey. See what you can glean from it.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is one of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia series, by C. S. Lewis. Eustace is a mean little boy whose greed and selfishness make everyone around him miserable. At one point during the story, Eustace runs away from his companions because he doesn’t want to help with chores. He falls asleep in a dragon’s lair and awakens as a dragon. All of the darkness within him is now on the outside for all to see, and much destruction ensues because of his awful transformation. His terrified cousins try to heal him, but to no avail.
Lost Hope
At his wits end and losing hope, Eustace encounters the lion Aslan, the Christ figure of the Narnia series. Aslan brings Eustace to a cool, clear pool of water and urges him to undress and get in. Confused at first because as a dragon he is not wearing any clothes, Eustace quickly realizes the ugliness of his scales and begins to scratch at himself. He scratches a layer of the ugliness away and approaches the pool to enter but upon seeing his reflection, he realizes he is still a dragon. Eustace tries two more times to remove the scales, but after each attempt he sees it is fruitless. We often do the same, scratching at what we find ugly in ourselves, but unable to make it go away.
Transformation Occurs the Only Way It Can
Failing in his attempts, Eustace finally realizes he cannot fix himself. Upon seeing this, Aslan comments, “You will have to let me undress you.” With his paw, the mighty lion pierces the hard shell of the dragon and begins to tear away at the layers of his skin. The pain is initially so deep that Eustace thinks Aslan has pierced his very heart. After some time, the tearing ceases and Eustace looks at all of the dreadful, thick skin lying in a huge pile beside him. Before he can say anything, Aslan throws him into the pool.
Eustace begins to swim, noticing he is free of pain and discomfort. As he looks down at himself, he realizes he is a boy again, no longer a dragon. Eustace is never the same after that encounter with Aslan (Christ figure). He still struggles now and then with some of his old tendencies, but Eustace is profoundly different because of his encounter with Love.
Christ Gave of Himself for Us
This is the transformation we’re all invited to undergo. God wants to bring each of us to the place where we can say, like Saint Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20).
Our New Selves
That difference between the dragon and the boy is the same difference we encounter between our old selves and our new selves when we really let God transform us. We can leave the sick, fearful, self-centered, seeking old self behind, living in a place of gratitude for everything that happened to us because it brought us to this point. Like Eustace, when we finally let God in to work on us, to transform us, it changes everything.
Please send me your comments at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com.
May God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!