"Aslan is on the move"

Listen again: "Aslan is on the move"

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Those were the words that came to my mind this afternoon while praying at a prayer meeting. I thought of how those words impacted their listeners in the imaginary world of Narnia. I thought of the fear they struck in the heart of the White Witch and the hope they gave to the Narnians. I thought of how the Pevensie children, who had never heard of Aslan before, still experienced their impact. And I thought of how Aslan is a type of Christ and how those words would impact Christians in our own world.

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The thing is, the situation became much, much worse before it improved. The White Witch already had suppressed hope every way she could, and before anyone saw the victory that Aslan brought, many would die, would be transformed into stone, or would suffer extreme hardships. Their faith in Aslan would be tested as completely as possible as they saw him killed on the Stone Table and were assured by the witch that they had been defeated. The witch herself feared Aslan and knew that her power was crumbling, but that only spurred her on to throw every last effort into defeating him. And from within the story, it looked like she had succeeded.

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Every time I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I wonder: what happened to the fox family? Father Christmas stopped by with a feast and the witch turned them to stone for being witnesses to the diminishing power of her control over winter. The scene is a transforming moment for Edmund, who feels sorry for someone other than himself for the first time as he realizes that they could be statues there until they crumble to pieces. I assume that Aslan travels throughout Narnia and restores them, but the book doesn't specify. And then I think of all the others--good Narnians, on Aslan's side--who are killed in the final battle against the witch. Good always wins, but we might not see its victory this side of Heaven and we might pay a significant, even life-destroying, price in the meantime.

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Aslan--that is, Christ Jesus--is on the move in our world today. We have been lied to that this world belongs to the evil one and that there is no hope for our victory. We suffer hardship, we are even slain, as we witness to the Truth. But have courage, hold on to your hope in the One Who Saves. Things may look bleak and they may (and probably will) get much, much worse before we see the improvement that is guaranteed to come. But remember: Satan fears the Lord Jesus, and even after he throws every last effort into defeating Him, he will himself be defeated.