CHPS 3 and 4 -- For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion's eyes.

For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion's eyes.

This is a long, disjointed post.  It’s also slightly mystical and weird.  If you want to save time – here’s the point:  We ruin the world. Jesus enters it and repairs the ruins with  deep emotional substance and precise emotional clarity.  And….. by His spirit He works in similar emotional fashion through us!

“For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion's eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory's own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.” (Magicians Nephew Excerpt from Chapter 12)

For a week or more, Caleb, my three year old son, has been counting down the days and at times hours and minutes to celebrating this morning  at 10:30 (2/10/14) the birthday of his beloved friend Samuel. 

This morning Caleb walked out in the living room eyes squinting, hair disheveled, stumbling in heavy sleep-drunk wake up mode.  Sarah picked him up and with both of us soaking up his very delirious bed warmness, Caleb asks with raspy hoarseness, “mom, is today Monday?”  Sarah says, “yes, it’s Monday.”  Caleb immediately grins ear to ear.  His eyes brightened with some serious radiant wakeful power as he joyfully declared, “yeah!! It’s Samuel’s Birthday!” 

As I think about establishing myself as emotional superstar heading in 2014 summer, I see Caleb standing in my path.  I see him erupting in joy over a birthday.  

As I think about my pursuit of emotional maturity, I hear him belching at the dinner table and proclaiming “TOXIC BOMB.”  I hear him ripping a fart in his car seat and announcing “TOXIC TOOT.”  I hear him asking me with enthusiasm after I fart, “da-da, was that a toxic toot?”  

I hear him naming his football teams when we play one-on-one football (without a ball by the way – just a lot of tackling and wrestling until he breaks through to an end zone which consists of a favorite blanket folded in a rectangle behind me.)  Back to his football team names -- His football teams range from the Broncos, to the Bears, to the Smoochie Faces, to Andrew Luck.

As I think about establishing myself as an emotional superstar heading into the 2014 summer,  I hear him just yesterday yelling with full-tilt boisterous intensity to a guy with a Denver jersey at Costco, “BRONCOS!!!!!”  I see him shaking his booty (hard not to see this because he does it constantly) while giggling until near suffocation.

As I think about my pursuit of emotional maturity,  I see him grabbing an egg with pure glee out of the chicken coop, beaming his eyes into mine, and sharing “I love checking eggs……this one is all mine!”

My point, there is a point …. Barely. 

My point is this – As I think about establishing myself as an emotional superstar heading into the 2014 summer, Caleb stands in my path. 

And Jesus stands in my path, right behind Caleb.

And Jesus stands right behind Caleb with a flaming sword shooting out of his mouth.

His sword decapitates my head.  Mystically, I can see my deflated body without its head.  My head “packed with years upon years of ‘knowledge, self-awareness, control, and refinement’  is rendered useless.

I blink and notice that Caleb is now transformed into the whitest, brightest splendor of glory.  Caleb picks up my head and punts it to Christ.  Christ (this part is very familiar to me) tickles Caleb into a giggle fit and then from His sword mouth breathes into my deflated headless corpse.

And then….. blink, blink …… I am suddenly kneeling in my living room.  Caleb is lining up across from ready for the next play of one on one football.  He’s digging in his imaginary cleats to break through my tackle and score another touchdown on the folded blanket.  As we fall together into the blanket somewhere in my soul I sense, for a painful and beautiful split second,  I am falling into heaven. 

Mathew 18:3 --  “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Other Ideas from the reading - Just Ideas Not Very Much Developed - 
Nothing changes the nature of truth. 
Nothing can change the nature/essence of love. 
Nothing can change, manipulate, the nature/character/power of Joy. 

Anal retentiveness is s*#tty sin.  (contemplating emotional adult = high emotional control.)

God is salvation.  Apart from Christ no one is free. 

Sky grew dark, earth shook, where is God now?  In the very center of the hell and chaos. 

Heart of God. Weeps.  Hurricane to Job – so powerful. Tears to Mary – so EMOTIONALLY tender. 

Where are you Jesus? On a cross. Dying for you my beloved.   Where were you Jesus? On a cross. Dying for you my beloved.

I Corinthians 13 – No love = I am nothing. Gain nothing.

Hebrews 1:3 – “Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of His nature, upholding the universe by His Word of power.”

From Chronicles of Narnia – Magicians Nephew –

Point – We ruin the world. Jesus enters it and repairs the ruins with the deep emotional substance and precise emotional clarity.

Excerpts from Chapters 11 and 12 from The Magicians Nephew

"You see, friends," he said, "that before the new, clean world I gave you is seven hours old, a force of evil has already entered it; waked and brought hither by this son of Adam." The Beasts, even Strawberry, all turned their eyes on Digory till he felt that he wished the ground would swallow him up. "But do not be cast down," said Aslan, still speaking to the Beasts. "Evil will come of that evil, but it is still a long way off, and I will see to it that the worst falls upon myself. In the meantime, let us take such order that for many hundred years yet this shall be a merry land in a merry world. And as Adam's race has done the harm, Adam's race shall help to heal it. Draw near, you other two."

DIGORY kept his mouth very tight shut. He had been growing more and more uncomfortable. He hoped that, whatever happened, he wouldn't blub or do anything ridiculous.

"Son of Adam," said Aslan. "Are you ready to undo the wrong that you have done to my sweet country of Narnia on the very day of its birth?"

"Well, I don't see what I can do," said Digory. "You see, the Queen ran away and - "

"I asked, are you ready?" said the Lion.

"Yes," said Digory. He had had for a second some wild idea of saying "I'll try to help you if you'll promise to help my Mother," but he realized in time that the Lion was not at all the sort of person one could try to make bargains with. But when he had said "Yes," he thought of his Mother, and he thought of the great hopes he had had, and how they were all dying away, and a lump came in his throat and tears in his eyes, and he blurted out:

"But please, please - won't you - can't you give me something that will cure Mother?" Up till then he had been looking at the Lion's great feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion's eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory's own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.