As I am sure most of you know, the author of “The Chronicles of Narnia,” C.S. Lewis, was one of the “intellectual giants” of the 20^th century, as well as one of the most influential Christian writers then and now. His most famous works include “The Screwtape Letters” and “Mere Christianity,” and both deal with theology, what Christians believe, the schemes of Satan, etc. In fact, all of C.S. Lewis’ works deal with Christianity, even his children’s fantasy series, “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

The first book in that series is, “The Magician’s Nephew.” In case you’ve never read it, allow me to give a brief character list and summary so you can better understand this article.

Digory—Digory is a little boy who is staying with his Aunt and Uncle for the summer while his mother is ill. Digory, along with Polly, winds up in Narnia with Uncle Andrew and Jadis. Digory, while mischievous, is a selfless boy with a lot of heart. He represents a Christian in the story.

Polly—Polly is the next door neighbor of Digory. She and Digory quickly become friends. She is a tough girl who don’t let no man get under her skin. She represents a Christian in the story.

Uncle Andrew—Uncle Andrew is Digory’s uncle who claims to be a magician. He is greedy, selfish, and hard hearted. He represents a non-believer (non-Christian/atheist/what have you) in the story.

Jadis—Jadis is an evil sorceress who destroyed her own world and wants to destroy others. Joy and goodness, everything Aslan offers, literally sucks the life out of her. She represents Satan in the story.

Aslan—Aslan is the Lion who created Narnia (and all the other worlds, we expect). He is full of love, joy, patience, empathy, grace, and authority. He represents God in the story.

Young Digory and Polly are next door neighbors for the summer, and they quickly become friends. One afternoon, they go exploring in the secret passageway in Polly’s attic and wind up in the private study of Digory’s eccentric uncle, Andrew, who claims to be a Magician. Uncle Andrew tricks both children into putting on magic rings that transport them to new worlds. In one world, the children find an evil sorceress, Jadis (who later becomes the White Witch). Then, through a series of events that can be better understood by reading the book, the children, Uncle Andrew and Jadis, find themselves in a brand new world created right before their eyes…Narnia. The lion, Aslan is the creator of this world (and all the others). The children are fascinated by this Lion, but Jadis and Andrew are terrified of him. Because evil, Jadis, has invaded the innocence of Narnia, Aslan sends Digory on a journey to find something that can protect it…a precious and life-giving apple in a sacred garden. However, when Digory goes to retrieve the apple, he presented with the temptation to forsake Aslan and take the apple for himself.

Now, like I said, even C.S. Lewis’s children’s novels deal with Christianity, and there are so many comparisons I could make between “The Magician’s Nephew” and certain passages in the Bible (the creation story, the garden, or the Fall for example). However, I believe Lewis’s main focus in this novel is evil/Satan. So that is the topic I want to explore and bring to light.

There are two scenes in particular I want to discuss, one that involves Jadis, and one that involves Uncle Andrew.

In the scene that involves Uncle Andrew, Aslan the Lion is singing Narnia into existence, and Uncle Andrew is refusing to hear his beautiful tune; Aslan represents God while Uncle Andrew represents a fixed non-believer, one that will never come to share in the goodness of God. Aslan created Narnia through singing. His tunes and notes brought into being the stars, the sun, the grass, the animals, all that Narnia holds. And though Uncle Andrew was there to witness this creation of a beautiful new land, and he has seen “God” move, he still outright rejects what he has seen and the goodness in it (Jadis runs away in terror). Uncle Andrew is terrified of Aslan and wants to shoot him. He hates the song Aslan is singing, because it makes him feel things he has no desire to feel (my guess is life, joy, and peace). He even tries to convince himself that this Lion is not even singing a tune… “The longer and more beautiful the Lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring…” Andrew is riddled with confusion and disbelief.

And it doesn’t stop there. When he sees Digory going to speak to Aslan he calls the boy selfish, when in fact, Digory is the one of the most selfless characters in the book, as he sacrifices his wellbeing for the sake of both Polly and his dying mother. When the other animals in Narnia try to talk to Andrew, all he can hear is barking and terrifying hissing. So, obviously we see that everything meant to be good comes to Andrew distorted.

What C.S. Lewis is really describing in this scene is the hardening of a wicked heart against the only thing that can save it. What should have been a life-giving, awe inspiring song turns into snarls, growls, and frightening roars. Uncle Andrew makes it impossible for himself to ever hear “God” again. This hardening of the heart distorts all that Andrew sees from then on. This is why he cannot enjoy the glory of Narnia, the impressiveness of talking animals, the selflessness of a little boy…

But do not worry too much for Andrew. Though this scene paints him in an irredeemable light, no one is past the point of deliverance. And the book ends with Andrew becoming a much nicer man in his old age.

But how did Andrew find himself in such a state in Narnia?

Well, he cozied up to the evil sorceress, Jadis. And that’s what brings us to our second scene.

In the scene that involves Jadis, she is trying to persuade Digory to take a bite out of a fruit that will bring him an eternal but cursed life. The lies and tools of manipulation she uses to persuade Digory sound just like the Enemy. Jadis says, “Why do you run from me? I mean you no harm. If you do not stop and listen to me now, you will miss some knowledge that would have made you happy”. She even accuses the Lion, “God”, of wrong saying, “What has the Lion ever done for you that you should be his slave…Look what he has done to you already”. She even uses Digory’s pure and selfless love for his Mother against him saying, “What would your mother think if she knew that you could have taken her pain away and given her back her life”.

Jadis is Satan. Satan was the one who tempted Eve with fruit and knowledge. And how many times have you heard a foreign voice say to you, “What could it hurt to do such and such”? I will be transparent and say that I hear this voice many times a day and I am tempted to just do whatever I want. But I have to remind myself that Satan only steals, kills, and destroys. Jadis was trying to steal Digory’s life, kill his purity, and destroy his obedience. Just like Satan tries to steal my joy, kill my faith, and destroy my life.

And poor young Digory almost gave into Jadis’ cunning, because Jadis is beautiful and enticing just as Satan and his temptations appear to us fun and exciting. But Digory found strength inside himself—inside his love for his friend, mother and Aslan—to overcome temptation. Just like how I am perfected in Christ and He fills in the gaps of my failures.

The messages conveyed in this simple children’s story are the opposite of simple. Lewis presents the reader with a small dose of Christianity, diving deep into the beauty of obedience, unconditional love, empathy, gentleness, mercy, humility, and repentance, while also revealing the tragedy behind unbelief, hardness of heart, and distortion brought upon by the Enemy. This story exposes the battleground between good and evil, right and wrong, love and hate, God and Satan that is surrounds us each and every day…

I say all of this to say:

If you are Uncle Andrew or if you know an Uncle Andrew, you are never without hope. God does not get excited about the death of those with hard hearts, but he desires for everyone to come to repentance. In Ezekiel, God says to turn and live! So, pray that hearts harder than diamonds and heavier than mountains will be turned to hearts of flesh that see with clear eyes and hear with open ears.

If you have fallen into the traps set up for you by Jadis, you are never without hope. God is full of grace and mercy that meet you wherever you have fallen. Because Jesus’ blood was shed, we are promised cleansing from every defilement of flesh and spirit. And holiness is completed in us through the fear of God. We are promised freedom and we are promised refinement. So, lean steady on God and he will deliver you from snares of your enemies, even if one of those enemies is yourself.