“…Aslan is a lion — the Lion, the great Lion.”

 

“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he — quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

 

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

 

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

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In this novel, Lewis beautifully captures the essence of not only Aslan but also the One whom Aslan represents — God, particularly God the Father. As we enter this new month with a focus on Father’s Day at TRM, it’s important to recognize that we come from diverse backgrounds. Some may have had kind and loving fathers, while others may have experienced fathers who were abusive or absent. Regardless of our individual experiences, one thing remains certain: our Heavenly Father, like Aslan, may not be safe in the conventional sense, but He is undeniably good.

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In all the Gospels, Jesus is viewed by four separate characteristics – Matthew views Him as a King, Mark as a Servant, Luke as a Man, and lastly is John as God. The first three have somewhat similar material as the others, but John has around 92% unique material – all pointing to the absolute nature of God through Christ. The whole purpose of the Gospel of John is this: that people might come to the point where they believe in Jesus Christ with the result that they would receive eternal life (John 20:30-31). All of this is done by pointing to the Father through the nature of Jesus Christ. The fact of the matter is this, how often do we simply overlook the character of God? We may read through the Gospels and hold onto some of the attributes of how good He is, but are we truly grasping how good of a Father He is?

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For example, put yourself in the place of the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Jesus came to a city of Samaria called Sychar and sat at Jacob’s well to rest. In John 4:6, it says that it was about the sixth hour, meaning it was midday, around noon. This time of day, the heat would have been near its peak and absolutely no one in their right mind would be out at that time let alone to get water, and yet, there was one Samaritan woman who came to get water. Why would one woman come by herself in the heat of the day? Because she was avoiding the rest of the people in town. She had a troubled reputation that preceded her, but how would this one man at the well whom she had no idea who He was, know about her reputation? Besides, she was a Samaritan and He was a Jew. Jews and Gentiles dare not speak to a Samaritan. But what does Jesus do? He says, “Give me a drink,” and this shocks her! She says, “How is it that You, though You are a Jew, are asking me for a drink, though I am a Samaritan woman?” Women did not hold the highest regard in those days, let alone a deplorable Samaritan, so there had to have been an agenda that this Jewish man was meaning to speak to her.

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