Learning from Eustace

It has been a moment of conversions for me the past few weeks. First I was turned from a pop-loving and r&b-grinding gal to a, well not really hardcore, rocker, to the delight of Lani and Zyza who, underneath their bubbly and lost facades, are ultimate rockers. I have also been turned into a Chronicles of Narnia fan, having borrowed the set from Lani. It is a loveable book, a children's book that captures the hearts of the young and young at heart.

After reading The Magician's Nephew, I was planning to do reflective entries about each book, what struck me and what I learned about it. But it was really hard for me to concentrate on one particular lesson. They were all good reminders, but nothing really struck struck me as much as th eone I will write about today.

It took me to the fifth book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, to finally get that striking that I was looking for. And it was really a striking part, both the imagery and the implication. No, it wasn't really an implication as much as a sharing of Lewis' own experience.

(For those who haven't read the book, I apologize for the spoilers that will appear on this entry. It is worth the read though, so I encourage you to read the books)

It was this part of the voyage when King Caspian, Lucy, Edmund, their cousin Eustace and the whole crew docked into a deserted island in hopes of shelter and replenishing their provisions, as well as repairing the ship. Since Eustace was being a big pain in the rear, he went away from the rest to rest and avoid the work. When he woke up he saw himself in an unknown valley, where there is a dying dragon. Upon the dragon's death Eustace sought refuge in the dragon's empty cave, only to find that it wasn't as empty as he thought. There was the dragons treasure: jewels, precious gems, gold coins. Greed overcame him and he planned of taking some of the treasure for himself, even wearing one of the bracelets he found. He fell asleep, only to wake to a new him: he was transformed to a dragon. As a dragon, Eustace realized that it was best to help his friends with whatever he can in his present form, eventually earning the friendship of the crew.

One night Edmund woke up to see a shadow approaching their ship. He eventually discovered it was his cousin Eustace, transformed back to his human form, although he seems more than just a boy. Then Eustace told him how he was changed back.

(This is the part that gave me goosebumps)

While he was sleeping and crying in the woods a great big Lion approached him and asked him what's wrong. Then he recounted his story and asked if there's any way he can be transformed back to being a boy. The Lion, Aslan, the creator of Narnia himself, told him to "undress" himself and dip in the pool of water nearby. Thinking that dragons might be related to other reptiles that shed skin, he sratched himself until all his scales were removed, then he took a dip in the pool. But when he got out he saw himself full of sclaes again. He tried to do the same thing twice more, until Aslan told Eustace to let Him do the undressing. And Aslan peeled away all the dragon hide of eustace, a painful but also pleasurable feeling, until he was just a tender lump of flesh, as delicate as a newborn child. Then the soft paws of Aslan carefully put Eusatce in the water and he was transformed back to his human form. Then Aslan gave Eustace new clothes. Eustace was a boy again, but not quite.

How many times have we stumbled and fallen down, and vowed that we will never commit the same mistakes again? And how many times did we still go back doing those very mistakes, despite all our resolutions and promises? It is hard to change ourselves through our own efforts. To do such a change needs a monumental power that can penetrate the layers of impurity and sin in our lives. Being human beings, we are limited. Our powers are limited. And because of our nature, it is impeccable that we turn back to our old ways that easily. It's like sailing on a nice sunny day then a storm comes that rattles our boat and no matter how hard we row so that the waves won't take us away, we still get taken away coz we don't have a strong anchor to hold us to the ground.

How can we have change in ourselves and be assured that this time we won't be going back to the same wayward ways we used to live? How can we shed our skins, hides even, and be clothed in new clothes that really show our true nature: that which is in likeness of God?

Simple. Let God do it for us. In a way, like a kid dependent on his yaya to clean and dress him up for school, so should we be dependent on God to cleanse us and give us new clothing. That's what He wants from us anyway, to be dependent on Him for all our needs, to surrender our everything to Him, and have faith and trust in Him when he leads us to where He wants us to be or what He wants us to do. When we have done that, only then can He come in the picture, remove our hides of sin and dress us in robes of His glory.

Easier said than done, you say. It takes a lot of faith and trust. You can't always have certainty in every action you take. Here is where the leap of faith enters. St. Paul said that "the fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see." (Hebrews 11: 1-3, The Message) If we can't trust God with something called our lives, what's the purpose of our existence here? He's the one who made us, why can't we trust the Maker of knowing his creation well?

I pray that you take time to sit down and think about it. Don't worry, you are not alone. There is always someone whom you can ask about the faith and of Christ, if you have questions. God's love for us is too big a thing to be kept to ourselves. Hey, "ask and you shall receive," Jesus said. He'll give you the answers you're looking for, He's the only answer :)