"Aslan, Aslan. Dear Aslan,” sobbed Lucy. “At last.”
The great beast rolled over on his side so that Lucy fell, half sitting and half lying between his front paws. He bent forward and just touched her nose with his tongue. His warm breath came all round her. She gazed up into the large wise face.
“Welcome, child,” he said.
“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.”
“That is because you are older, little one,” answered he.
“Not because you are?”
“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”
–C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian
every year, around christmas season time, i read something about Jesus. something to make Him bigger to me. this year, i am reading the Jesus i never knew, by phillip yancey (one of my favorite authors).
i have learned a couple of interesting facts...
one is that there was a group of jews (the essenes) that lived at the time of Jesus’ birth that did not defecate on the sabbath. wow. and they thought if they (as a group) could just keep two sabbaths perfectly that the Messiah would come.
and there He was living and breathing right along side them. and they didn’t even recognize Him. probably because they were focusing so hard on not going to the bathroom.
which is funny. and sad. and makes me wonder what LAWS i am focusing so hard on keeping that i ignore the presence of the Holy Spirit in my everyday life? what am i trying to do so perfectly even ONE time in a row to obtain some kind of victory in my own eyes that might endear me to the One who has already come and died and rose again? sometimes i can be a bit essene...
“Nothing hides our fellow man more than morality, and nothing hides the face of God more than religion. When we are most religious, we may be most at risk of losing touch with God.”
–Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin
things to consider...
what things to i do that make God bigger to me?
what things do i do to make myself bigger to me (and others)?
i hope this is a season of making God bigger. for myself and for others.