For Narnia And For Aslan!!!

"For Narnia and for Aslan," screams my 3 year old as he stands there dressed in his medieval knight armour stretching his sword to the sky. If asked who he is, he'll claim he's Peter in his best English accent. If he's not playing Peter then he's pretending he's Sir William from the movie "A Knights Tale." If you were to ask him what he wants to be when he grows up he'll say, "I'm going to be a knight!" He loves pretending to fight the bad guys and of course rescuing the beautiful princess. He's not all that different than his older brother when he was his age or even me for that matter.

I kind of think its in our DNA. I think its something in us that was placed there by our Creator. Something in us that longs to be a part of a bigger story. A longing to live for something much bigger than ourselves. It manifests when we are young in games of fantasy where we play the parts of knights or superheroes or soldiers, etc. As we grow, I don't think that thing in us ever really goes away, I just think we become very well at learning how to suppress it or ignore it. The fact is we were created for a bigger story. We were created to live for something much bigger than ourselves. The problem is, we often allow this world, in which we live, to get our eyes off of the other world in which we live. While we are physical beings, at the same time we are spiritual beings. We live both in a physical world and a spiritual one. While we may be accountants or salespeople or office personnel in the seen world, Scripture calls us kings, priests, and warriors in the kingdom of God. The difference in we adults and kids is that while playing the part, our children truly believe for that moment they are who they are pretending to be while we struggle with our true identity. In our minds, we are that accountant or salesperson or office staff, and while we know what Scripture says about us, we just can't wrap our brain around it. What's crazy is that the world in which we are kings, priests, and warriors is more real than the one in which we are accountants, salespeople, etc.

I know its hard to comprehend a world that we can not see. But, our seeing it doesn't determine its validity or reality. The truth is there is a world much bigger and more real than just the one we see. Its a world where we put on the armor of God and become part of a story much bigger than ourselves. Its a world where mommy's and daddy's become warriors fighting for their children's souls. Its a world where mommy's and daddy's take on the role of priest in order to go to God on behalf of their children. Its a world where mommy's and daddy's are truly kings and queens and have been given all power and authority over the enemy and see to it that all is well in their kingdom.

I don't know about you, but I'm thinking I don't dress up enough in order to play my role. While I could write more, I think I'm going to step away from the laptop and pick up a sword. Perhaps you should as well. Let's step into that story that's bigger than ourselves. "For Narnia and For Aslan!!!"

Lessons From A Six-Year-Old Knight

Last week we took our two boys to the park. They both love the park and like any other kid, they ran, climbed, and slid. About 30 minutes into our visit my 6 year old grabs a stick, and for the next 20 minutes or so, he's in a world of his own. Apparently, he had been swept away to a place in need of a knight. I'm not sure if it was a galaxy far, far away where Jedi knights attempt to curtail evil or back in time when medieval knights fought dragons and rescued princesses. Wherever he was, one thing is for certain, the bad guys didn't stand a chance. His technique made it obvious to everyone around him, he was no novice. Utilizing spin moves, and quick lunges, with both left hand and right hand assaults, the pole, er... um... I mean the enemy would receive no mercy from him this day.

Isn't it funny how young ones can so quickly escape to another world? Whether it's pretending they are a knight, a basketball player hitting a last second buzzer beater, or pirate in search of a buried treasure. Or, maybe a little girl pretending to be a beautiful princess, or a famous singer complete with hair brush microphone, or pretending to be a mother taking care of her little dolls, dressing them, feeding them, and rocking them to sleep. Truth is, most little ones have very little difficult forgetting about this world for a few moments.

Maybe, its creativity? I don't know. I kind of like to believe that its a bit more than that. Perhaps, it's a part of our DNA. Part of how we are wired. After all, the world we live in, is not the only world we live in. Ok, that statement doesn't make a lot of sense, but let me clarify. Believe it or not, parallel to the world we live in, is a world we can't see. Or should I say, can't see with the natural eye. Yet, it's a world that we are a part of. Actually, we are more a part of this "unseen" world, than we are of this "seen" world. Scripture tells us that we are nothing more than pilgrims, or travelers through this "seen" world, but we are citizens of another place.

Ok, I know that sounds like some sci-fi flick, but believe it or not, it's true. The kingdom of God is a real place, a real kingdom. Although our natural eye can't see it, we can still "see" it. At least those who are born again can see it. How can you see something that you can't see with your natural eye? Remember algebra? At first those concepts were hard to get, hard to understand. But, then one day, finally that light went off and you got it. You could "see" it as clear as day. Ok, so maybe you never got the algebra thing, but hopefully you can follow that line of thinking.

To those who are born again, Jesus tells us that we can see the kingdom of God. We can understand it, and comprehend it. Though, oblivious to our natural eye, we can begin to see it clearly. As a result, our lives take on, or should take on, a shift from doing life the way we've always done life. We begin to do life with the knowledge and understanding that although we are in this "seen" world we are not of it. Our citizenship belongs to an eternal kingdom and the 70, 80, 90 years here is nothing more than a vapor. We learn to walk through this life not becoming too attached to the things in it, too overwhelmed by the problems in it, or too worried about the uncertainty of it.

To those who can't see the kingdom of God, it's nothing but foolishness to them. They don't understand it. They struggle with the concepts, principles, and character that lay at the foundation of this kingdom. While we live there, because they can't see it, they view us much like those watching my son fighting evil in another world. To them it's foolishness.

Next time you see your little one's pretending to be of another world, remember it's not foolishness. I would go so far as to say, it's simply training for that day, when they can "see" that other world that they are so much a part of.