“Quick!” Said Peter, “there’s nowhere else,”
and flung open the wardrobe. All four of them bundled
inside it and sat there, panting, in the dark.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy are running away and trying to
find a place to hide when they decide to skirt into the Wardrobe
as a last alternative. They soon feel cold and are looking at
snow-covered trees. Th ese four children were not looking for an
adventure into Narnia that day but found themselves in a world
that needed their help and had been eagerly awaiting their arrival. It
was as if it was orchestrated by providence—as if they were destined
to be there. By stepping into the Wardrobe, the four children would
discover their purpose and who they were meant to become—the
kings and queens of Narnia who would govern in Cair Paravel.
Great stories usually work this way. There is a yearning for
something more and then something randomly happens that
thrusts our hero into the greatest adventure of his life. Frodo
Baggins, Neo, Luke Skywalker, and so many others come to mind.
And there is something all these heroes have in common—they all
have faith and have said a resounding “yes” to the adventure.
Helen Keller wrote, “No pessimist ever discovered the secret to the
stars, or sailed to an unchartered land, or opened a new heaven to
the human spirit.”9
And Steve Prefontaine said, “To give anything less than your best is
to sacrifi ce the gift.”10
The gift is the discovery. Whether it is a talent or a new world we
have discovered, we all have a choice to make—to take the plunge
forward or go back to our former ignorance.
Situations have a way of just presenting themselves and when they
do, we have the opportunity to discover what we are made of and
why we are here. In The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe we
find that these four children are presented with a surprise and then
with a mission. When Lucy finds out that Mr. Tumnus has been
captured on her account, the adventure begins.
When we stumble onto the truth of God we must also make some
choices. We must decide if we will answer the call and enter into
God’s country.
St. Augustine talks about how each one of us has the choice of
living in one of two cities. He states, “Two societies [cities] have
issued from two kinds of love. Worldly society has flowered
from a selfish love which dared to despise even God, whereas the
communion of saints is rooted in a love of God that is ready to
trample on self. In a word, this latter relies on the Lord, whereas
the other boasts that it can get along by itself. The city of man
seeks the praise of men, whereas the height of glory for the other
is to hear God in the witness of conscience.”11
Which city we choose to enter into is up to us. The choice is ours
to make because God has already chosen us and opened the door.
He decided to present himself to us and bid us to come to his
land. Had he not intermingled with humanity 2000 years ago, we
would not have discovered him and been able to embrace him. He
presents the Wardrobe for us to enter into. It is not an accident but
it is a gift of grace.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not
by works, so that no one can boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
