Who doesn’t like a good story?
The best stories in life don’t only capture the imagination and transport us to a different world; they often communicate truth in a more compelling way than the simple presentation of empirical fact. I was reminded of this recently as I was making my way through the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis for the umpteenth time. The entire series is a wonderful example of the power of story to communicate truth, as C. S. Lewis uses his tales of Aslan, kings, queens, mythical creatures, and talking animals to present with reader with biblical/doctrinal truth.
On this recent journey through Narnia, one instance of this jumped out at me in particular. In The Last Battle, which is the final book in the series, one of the reasons the main conflict arises in the book is that the Narnians are unable to identify if the Aslan who has appeared in Narnia this time is real or an impostor. (If you are unfamiliar with the Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan is the one true King over Narnia and the son of the Great Emperor Across the Sea, but he is not always physically present in Narnia since he has domains elsewhere he must tend to). The main reason that no one can identify whether their visitor is the real Aslan or not (spoiler alert: he is an impostor) is because they have failed to remind themselves and teach each generation who he is (his character and attributes), which informs how he reveals himself and acts. This inability to discern who Aslan is leads to a whole host of other issues and affects the type of ending the other characters experience.
We can experience a similar crisis. When we neglect our relationship with Jesus, failing to know Him intimately and failing to teach the following generations to do so, we end up being limited in our discernment of who He is, how He moves, and what it looks like to follow Him. This is not a new dilemma. Humanity’s tendency to drift and forget is the whole reason God gives Israel the command to listen, love and know Him in Deuteronomy 6:4-6, following that with commands to teach this to their children and remind themselves regularly.
This is a significant motivation as to why I serve with BCM in the Bible and Ministry Training Department. Our goal is to see church leaders equipped to clearly communicate who Jesus is and how to know and follow Him. There are many around the world who are seeking to follow Jesus, but they are working with a fractional understanding of who He is, simply because they do not have access to solid biblical teaching. We are hard at work creating an accessible curriculum and I am excited to share that we are looking to begin testing the core sessions that will provide valuable feedback. At the end of October, a few of our team members will be leading two rounds of testing in South Africa. Please be praying that our team will be sensitive and open to the leading of the Spirit and to the feedback that we hope to receive through this process. Please pray, as well, that our time there would be a blessing to the participants and be fruitful. I look forward to sharing more of what God is accomplishing through our partnerships!
