My wife and I recently finished reading through the Chronicles of Narnia series–by C. S. Lewis–with our 7 year old daughter. She adored them, which surprised me somewhat given the 1950s British English and depth of theme. Kids are far more intelligent and intellectually capable than we think or know them to be. The stories themselves speak to younger audiences, but the themes to all ages.
This post, however, is about the The Last Battle, and in particular the first section of the second to last chapter of The Last Battle, titled Further Up and Further In. The section wraps up with this sentence, spoken by Aslan, the God-like character of the series:
Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou wouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek.
These words conclude a scene, recounted by Emeth, a Calormene soldier, in which Aslan welcomes him into his country (or kingdom, as it were) despite this Calormene having never before bowed his knee to him, Aslan. Upon reading this as an adult for the first time, I got the feeling that Lewis was stating one of his beliefs about whom God will welcome into His presence when that time comes, or perhaps Lewis included this simply to inspire consideration on the matter, or perhaps still it is just the way things work in Narnia and has no correlation to real life.
My opinion of this consideration so inspired by Lewis is this: “…so that men are without excuse”; “…confess with your mouth and believe in your heart…”. I do not believe that seeking alone results in redemption, because: “he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” I believe that the seeking and finding, the knocking and opening, the confessing and believing need to happen on this side of eternity. That being said, this is not a hill I am willing to die on.
The Chronicles of Narnia box set would make a great gift for kids ages 6-96. I recommend the hardback set for generational reading, but this 7 books in 1 paperback is great too if you’re on a tight budget.
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