Jesus Will Change How You Walk

In the Chronicles of Narnia, the witch is on the move. She has just murdered the great lion, Aslan, and she is headed into battle with all his followers as she seeks to destroy all that is good in Narnia.

But while she thinks Aslan has remained dead, instead the lion is resurrected and he also along with the two children Lucy and Susan are on the move.

They are headed to the Witches Castle to set free all of those who are in bondage.

Aslan as he makes his way through the Castle breathes on the stone statues all around him, bringing them back to life with his very life breathed upon them.

For one of these stone statues though, Aslan says something rather interesting.

Aslan approaches a statue of a giant’s feet. He then breathes on the stone feet and says:

Once the feet are put right, all the rest will follow.

Aslan; The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

It’s an interesting turn of phrase.

Aslan means that once the giants feet get a firm footing, the rest of the giant will in turn stand firm as well. Once you are standing in the right place, everything else will follow.

Jesus of Nazareth has a similar idea as he describes the foundation on which someone builds a house.

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Matthew 7:24-27

One of the more famous stories in the Bible is about a man named Job. Job was a faithful servant of God and was blessed mightily because of that. He was very wealthy, had a big nice family and just in simple terms had the life we all dream of.

But in the story, Satan approaches God and questions Job’s faithfulness. Satan believed that Job was so faithful to God because of how good his life was. The challenger believed that Job was too comfortable, and that because Job lived in such great comfort, that was the reason why Job seemed so faithful to Yahweh.

This follows an idea in the luxurious West we are way too familiar with. It is easy for us to “follow Jesus” and claim his name when we live in one of the richest nations in the world. We do not have to worry about a war taking place on our soil. We do not have to stress about being locked up for going to our church buildings and preaching sermons opposing our government leaders. “Taking up our cross” in our setting is easy. Because for many of us, our livelihood will never be threatened. Christianity is an easy and comfortable choice.

This was in its essence what Satan believed to be the issue with Job’s devotion to God. Job’s devotion has never been challenged so how does anyone know if Job is really all that devoted.

The story continues with God giving Satan permission to try Job’s faith. The only caveat is that Satan cannot take Job’s life.

Satan then rips Job’s perfect life out of his hands. He takes Job’s kids, livestock, wealth, health and love. But the one thing Satan does not manage to steal away is Job’s faithfulness.

I find the way of Jesus to be very helpful when it comes to facing trials or tribulations in our life.

Within the context of the way of Jesus you are taught that you do not find peace in the material possessions you have in your life. Rather, regardless of your circumstance, if your feet are where they should be. If the great lion has breathed life into them, then the rest of you will follow. The rest of you will be secure.

Because our God is sovereign, we are able to find rest for our souls. The deepest most intimate part of our being is able to stand still. Circumstances may change. Our settings may be dire. We may like the giant be trapped in the witches castle, but we can at the same time be sure that our God will overcome death, hell and the grave to rescue us.

In fact, he did. And because of that, we can stand firm. No shaking, no moving. We can have peace because our God is with us.