Narnia : Prince Caspian

greetings to my dearest JC South! its my first blog post here, yippee :)

mmm what i'll be sharing here, i had actually shared with some of you before, but hey, i think that just as we can receive different revelations from Pastor's messages each time we hear them, likewise when we all come together and share - different views and revelations of Jesus come to mind.

for myself, there were a few instances where i was really floored by what the movie had shown.


first off, my heart had really jumped when Lucy, after searching alone in the forest had finally come face to face with Aslan, towards the end of the movie. if you can recall, Lucy had said something along the lines of "Aslan, i knew you were here, i knew it, but no one believed me." and Aslan's response was, "well, why should that have stopped you from coming to me?"

i think that just painted the picture of the believer before me. especially at times when everyone mocks our beliefs, laughs when we say that God is here with us, that Jesus is on our side. but even in those times, even in those moments when we are alone, it doesn't change the fact that Jesus is there nonetheless. and we shouldn't let what others think cause us to refrain from pressing in to Jesus.

another thing i'd noticed (which someone had reminded me that Pastor had preached on before when i'd brought it up) was Lucy said "Aslan, you've grown!" and Aslan had said, "As you grow bigger each year, so will I."

we all know that since the beginning, Aslan had lived for a long time, even before the four children had gone into Narnia. i believe that Aslan had not "grown" so to speak, but rather, as Lucy grew up, she was more ready to behold more evidently, how big Aslan really was, and as her perception matured, Aslan unveiled more of himself to her. Aslan hadn't grown, her perception of him had.





For those of us who had watched the first Narnia movie as well, most of us notice how much Edmund had changed. the thing that really jumped out here to me was an illustration that Pastor Prince had used before. Let me explain:

for example, if there are two girls, suppose girl A was from a broken family, flunking at school, had done many things she regretted, was despised by many and had let's say, multiple piercings and tattoos (not that i'm condemning this, its just an example). now, let's say girl B is from an average family, has decent results and some close friends. both of them come to know Jesus. and of course, we know that in Christ, they will both be redeemed, exalted and become of equal standing in Christ - King and High Priest!

yet how many of us realise that girl A has gone through more with Jesus? that the space (think vertically) she was lifted up in Christ was more than girl B because she had started from a position far below that of girl B? they had come to the same final destination, so she was "moved" more than girl B, but does that mean Jesus loves her more? NO. but does she know that Jesus loves her more than the other girl? possibly, in fact, likely.

i guess this all wraps up in that the one who knows that they have been forgiven of much, loves much. and i felt that was very evident in the character of Edmund. he knew he'd messed up before, and we see throughout the movie that he did not try to exalt himself above his station. he served, often in the background, even as a messenger to the enemy forces, though he was a king. and he was aware of that - that he's not "prince" Edmund, but King Edmund, as he had pointed out to the enemy in the tent.

but when push came to shove, those who had been so "in control", in power - Peter and Caspian, had forgotten why they were doing it all. they, tempted by the lure of the white witch had nearly sold all of Narnia to her once more. but the one who has walked that path before with Aslan, had been there, at the right place, at the right time, and did the right thing, shattering the illusions of the tempter and revealing the glory of the Lion of Judah.

likewise, Peter, who had been so wrapped up in what he had been trying to achieve that he'd lost sight of Aslan, had then come awake to his actions when he had seen Aslan revealed and his battle cries had changed - from the first battle to the latter - from "for Narnia" to "for Aslan!"

and we all know the victory wasn't make by the four children, nor Caspian. they had realised later, that the true victory could only come by the presence of Aslan, and their true role was only to hold on to the hope of Aslan's salvation as they fought, all that held them up was "has Lucy gone? is she back? is Aslan here?" and that had brought them the victory.




finally, the scene that had touched my heart had been the part where Aslan had told the five kings/queens to arise, but Caspian had remained kneeling. Caspian, in the beginning, had been pretty full of himself, and had appeared to be in some sort of struggle for power with Peter. but what he said at the end was very revealing of himself, that he "did not think he was worthy". for when he truly beheld Aslan, he saw how futile his self-justification had been, his efforts to count himself amongst the worthy. he had truly come to know that even with all his struggles, he was unworthy.

but the response of Aslan had been doubly beautiful. He'd said, "and that disqualification is the very thing that qualifies you."

doesn't that just ring of the love of Jesus? knowing that we are unworthy, coming to the end of ourselves, we truly see how glorious and beautiful Jesus is, how little we actually are. but as we truly see this, see that the only thing that qualifies us is Him, we can draw near and truly say, "Thank You, Lord.", for then we truly see His grace, that nothing of ourselves had given us the right to be a King - whose word holds power in the land, and a High Priest - who stands closest to the Lion of Judah. that we can truly appreciate that nothing else, but His sacrifice had attained us the right to stand in His presence.