The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis is one of my favorite series of all time. Throughout these epic stories, we learn many lessons which we can apply to our lives. Whether you are a child or an adult, you can also appreciate the lessons learned within the books of The Chronicles of Narnia. We learn not only truths for our everyday lives but also truths for our spiritual walk.
Sometimes we think of this series as simply being a fairytale or a children's story, but this book series is much more important. Lewis wrote this story with children in mind, yet adults can equally be fascinated with these books and understand the lessons in a deeper way.
Personally, I didn't understand this series until I read them after college. My sister and a missionary suggested the series to me, and once I started reading them, I couldn't put the series down.
Here are five lessons from The Chronicles of Narnia, and I encourage you to read this series for yourself too.
One lesson from The Chronicles of Narnia is that God is with us always. Within this book series, there is a lion named Aslan. Aslan is figurative of Jesus Christ, and he helps the children throughout their trials.
Not only does Aslan die for them, but He is also resurrected just like Jesus. Similar to how God is with us in our earthly lives, Aslan is walking beside the children in their own lives as they are in Narnia and while they are in England.
While many can argue that Aslan is only made up, he is actually an allegorical figure of Christ. He loves all the inhabitants of Narnia, and he never wants to see them hurt.
He risks his own well-being for their own good and does anything to ensure the safety of his people. This is a testimonial truth of the Lord as He is always walking beside us and protecting us from the evil that is lurking in the world (Psalm 23).
A second lesson we can learn from The Chronicles of Narniais that God doesn't hold our sins against us. Edmund sins against Aslan and does exactly what he shouldn't have done, yet Aslan dies in place of him.
Jadis, the White Witch, is the figure of Satan in the book series, and she is the one who celebrates with her evil minions once she believes Aslan is dead. However, Aslan comes back to life the next morning and is stronger than he was before.
As we can see, despite Edmund's sin, Aslan doesn't hold his sins against him, just as God doesn't hold our sins against us. Once we have placed faith in Jesus, we never have to worry about being condemned again.
The Lord never holds our sins over our heads, nor does He constantly remind us of them. Instead, He forgives our sins and gives us a new life in Him. More than that, He also gives us abundant life (John 10:10).
A third lesson from this series is that evil will eventually be destroyed. Despite Jadis the White Witch being destroyed in the second book of the series, there are many other evil creatures and characters in the book.
However, by the end of the series, these evil creatures are destroyed, and goodness is once again reigning over Narnia. There are many battles and deaths throughout the series, yet in the end, Narnia is once again restored to peace.
Similar to our future as Christians, evil will be destroyed. At the end of the tribulation, Satan will be bound for a thousand years and then released to tempt the nations.
However, once this responsibility is done, he is thrown into the lake of fire, where he will no longer be able to cause problems for mankind.
In the same way, evil will be gone because sin will be eradicated. No longer will we have our sin natures in Heaven or in the New Heaven and New Earth.
This will be a day of great joy, peace, and delight. We will be able to celebrate and praise the Lord for the eternal happiness He gives us through the salvation He gave us.
A fourth lesson from The Chronicles of Narnia is that friendship is to be treasured. As someone who has struggled with friendships throughout my entire life, I cannot stress enough how precious true friends are, as well as how hard they are to find.
Throughout the series, long-lasting bonds are made not only with Aslan but also with other characters and family members.
Never are the children afraid of being alone or without help. This can be greatly encouraging to all people to know that there are good friends in the world, and Narnia is no exception.
A true friend is a treasure as it is someone you can turn to no matter what. Whether you are having a bad day or a great day, a true friend is there for you. The greatest example we have of a friend is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is our friend through all of our days, even when we mess up. We can see this in Narnia by Aslan forgiving and moving on past hurts in order to restore relationships with his creation.
God does the same things for us as He constantly wants to be in a relationship with us and have open communication with us.
God is our most close and precious friend, yet God wants us also to have friends in this world. Just as the characters in Narnia are never alone in facing their battles, God doesn't want us to be alone, either.
Try to search out some friends this week and see if you can't find any that will be a true friend to you. It is a beautiful thing to have a friend you can count on.
The fifth lesson from this series is that there is hope for life after death. Within Christianity, the place where believers go after death is known as Heaven. In Narnia, it is referred to as Aslan's Country.
This is the place where they pass through the waters to be with Aslan forever. Many characters pass through this water throughout the book, including the children, minus Susan. This was symbolic of the passing from life to death to be with Aslan forever.
In the same way, when we die, we are not without hope. As soon as we pass away, we are immediately in the presence of the Lord. Our lives do not simply cease, nor do we become one with the universe.
Rather, we are assured that there is life after death, and this life is found in Christ. If we place faith in Christ during our earthly life, we go to be with Him in heaven.
However, if we fail to place faith in Him, we go to hell when we die, where we will be separated from Him for all eternity. Ultimately, the choice is up to us, and Lewis shares this truth in his fabulous work, The Chronicles of Narnia.
For further reading:
The Life and Work of C.S. Lewis
Why Did C.S. Lewis Call Christianity a True Myth?
20 Surprising C.S. Lewis Quotes and 10 Facts You Didn't Know
Are Christ Figures in Literature Biblical?
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