Watching the Narnia movie. I find the part where the white witch comes for Edmond, after Aslan's forces rescued him to be most stirring. She demands Edmond is hers because he's a traitor. And Aslan arranges a deal in which the white witch is satisfied.
The people rejoice, and the white witch says, "How do I know you'll keep your word?" Aslan roars ferociously, and the white witch leaves. The people are ecstatic and hug each other.
The irony being that Aslan has promised to suffer and die for Edmond.
Sometimes I wonder if, when the morning stars shouted for joy to know that Christ would pay for us, if we really understood the agony and horror and pain He would suffer for our mistakes? I wonder if we really fully understood the depths of anguish and the high price our freedom would cost?
And yet He did it out of love, and drank the bitter price, and kept his promise.
I stand truly amazed.
--Ray
__________________
I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
I don't think there is any way that we could have really comprehended what he would have to suffer. How could we know what physical pain was like? There is no way that we could have.
For that matter, there is also no way we could really understood what mortality would be like. Due to my native optimistic nature, bokbadok is convinced that the last thing I said before leaving the heavenly realm to come to morality was, "Well, this shouldn't be too bad."
I bet there were others who thought the same thing.
YOu are right, I like Narnia and the spiritual message. To me the saddest part is when Aslan was dying and when he was walking to his death. And the power of when he returned to life, and then left everyone once again. I agree, WOW!
I heard a CD this weekend that referred to the Atonement. The speaker said he imagined the Atonement to be very individual. If I am remembering right, the speaker thought time could have been a little different in such a way that he thought he said he envisioned the Savior taking each of our names, one by one and then going and making the Atonement for that person. Then coming back for the next person and so on.
I am not doing justice to his comment, so a little later, I will find his remark and share it here.
Also, I marvel at the Father (he being a perfected being) who must've known the pain required at the hand of our liberation. That he would allow his most perfect son to suffer such a horrendous price for what we didn't even appreciate.
I can imagine Satan's arguments were so compelling, both at stirring us up in false compassion that the Father would allow his perfect son to be so used!? And then at the same time telling us that he would probably suffer in vain for us, that it was nobler not to even take part in the plan rather than risk God's gift being squandered.
I imagine he doubted that Christ would do it. That he could play upon the fears of all of us, that if Christ would not walk the perfect way, in perfect submission, the whole plan would be ruined, and we would not be salvageable. And who really WOULD give up their life for us unworthy creatures!?
And then to be cast out, how he vowed to make the suffering that much worse, to make the price that much more steep, because of the depravity he would stir up in God's children.
What amazing love God must have for all of us... it is incomprehensible in our station. It leaves so many unanswered questions, even room for doubt, without some degree of blind trust in the Lord in this life of darkness, I wonder if any man can truly be saved.
And we are so quick to leave him. I just taught the lesson on the Last Supper and Triumphal entry into Jerusalem to some primary age children. It was a stirring discussion we had. I had the children shout out "Hosannah to the Most High!" and then explained how excited the whole city was... and then... in one week they would be shouting, "Crucify Him!"
It makes me marvel at the waveringness, the unsteadiness of the creatures God gave his life for... And yet God loves them, and said, "Father Forgive them for they know not what they do."
--Ray
__________________
I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
