Aslan and the Path of Faithful Pain

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW259251450 BCX4"> <p><span data-contrast="none">One of the most beloved and quotable scenes in The Chronicles of Narnia is from</span> <a href= "https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/witch-wardrobe-chronicles-narnia-commemorative-edition/c-s-lewis/9780064409421/pd/09423?event=ESRCQ"> <em><span data-contrast="none">The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</span></em></a><span data-contrast="none">, when the children learn that Aslan is a lion, “the Lion, the great Lion.”  </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><em><span data-contrast="none">"'Ooh' said Susan. 'I’d thought he was a man. Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.'</span></em></p> <p><em><span data-contrast="none">'Safe?' said Mr. Beaver ... 'Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.'"</span> <span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}">  </span></em></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">Though we love the idea that God is not “safe,” we often live as if our safety or comfort marks the boundaries of our relationship with Him. Catechized by bad theology, captivated by our culture’s enablement of self-centeredness, or weary of an angry and fractious age, many Christians cannot conceive that God’s will for our lives could involve anything unpleasant or uncomfortable.  </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">When it does and our expectations collapse, we wonder if God cares, having conflated God’s faithfulness with a painless, placid life of blessing and provision. We are quick to assume that pain or discomfort means that God’s will has been thwarted, or that His love and protection have been withdrawn. It’s difficult to accept that, rather than a sign of God’s absence, the presence of pain could be a sign of His sovereign care. </span><span data-