I love this story! Nancy:l
Good News
"In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when the Pevensies learn from Mr. and Mrs. Beaver that Aslan is "on the move," it has an effect on all but Edmund "like the first signs of spring, like good news."?And of course that promise sounds great to Peter, Susan, and Lucy?they've sought to do the right thing all along. But for Edmund, who has already decided to head down the wrong path on the side of the White Witch, these prophecies sound more like bad news.
The phrase "good news" has spiritual connotations, as C.S. Lewis more than likely recognized. It's the original meaning of the word gospel, which comes from the Old English godspell or good spell, meaning "a good story" or "good news." For Christians, the good "spell"?the great story, the wonderful news?is that Christ's death and resurrection have saved us from the bad "spell" of sin and death: Those who believe in Jesus are free and forgiven and will spend eternity with God. That's the gospel.
Telling people they're messed up and are on the losing side is not good news, no matter how you spin it. It may be true, but it's not helpful if you don't tell the important parts of the story, too: that the forces of darkness are not going to have the last word, that the rightful King has returned, that the Kingdom will be restored. Then the hearers can wrestle on their own with whether or not they'll choose the winning side, the side of the King.
Good News
"In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when the Pevensies learn from Mr. and Mrs. Beaver that Aslan is "on the move," it has an effect on all but Edmund "like the first signs of spring, like good news."?And of course that promise sounds great to Peter, Susan, and Lucy?they've sought to do the right thing all along. But for Edmund, who has already decided to head down the wrong path on the side of the White Witch, these prophecies sound more like bad news.
The phrase "good news" has spiritual connotations, as C.S. Lewis more than likely recognized. It's the original meaning of the word gospel, which comes from the Old English godspell or good spell, meaning "a good story" or "good news." For Christians, the good "spell"?the great story, the wonderful news?is that Christ's death and resurrection have saved us from the bad "spell" of sin and death: Those who believe in Jesus are free and forgiven and will spend eternity with God. That's the gospel.
Telling people they're messed up and are on the losing side is not good news, no matter how you spin it. It may be true, but it's not helpful if you don't tell the important parts of the story, too: that the forces of darkness are not going to have the last word, that the rightful King has returned, that the Kingdom will be restored. Then the hearers can wrestle on their own with whether or not they'll choose the winning side, the side of the King.