Among the many gifts of maturing in Christ, few surpass the one illustrated here by C.S. Lewis in Prince Caspian.
And then—oh joy! For he was there: the huge Lion, shining white in the moonlight, with his huge black shadow underneath him.
But for the movement of his tail he might have been a stone lion, but Lucy never thought of that. She never stopped to think whether he was a friendly lion or not. She rushed to him. She felt her heart would burst if she lost a moment. And the next thing she knew was that she was kissing him and putting her arms as far round his neck as she could and burying her face in the beautiful rich silkiness of his mane.
“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.
“AsIan,” 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: The Return to Narnia.
A sure way to measure your growth in Christ is to measure how much Christ has grown in your eyes. Growing in Christ results in Christ growing larger in your eyes with every passing year. He does not become more glorious, but the more we grow, the more we are able to see how glorious He truly is. Every year we grow, we shall find Him bigger.
This is such a great illustration – and perfect for today’s culture, where we tend to try and shrink God into a human-sized box. Thanks!
Thanks John! This illustration has always encouraged me too!