Queens of Narnia, Assemble!

My daughter has been cast in many roles since she joined the drama club in middle school, but my favorite role will always be her first. Her debut role was Lucy Pevensie, one of the main characters in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I loved C.S. Lewis’ entire Narnia series, but one quote from Aslan, the lion who represents Jesus Christ, hit me hard:

“Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia,” Aslan says to the Pevensie children as they are crowned rulers over the kingdom. 

That quote spoke life to my heart, which had been molded in a religious system that tied our salvation to our works. Aslan’s words brought the Lord’s declaration to life: God considered me His child, and always would. 

That same daughter, who played little Lucy, graduated from high school this year. Homeschooling her has been one of the biggest blessings in my life, and it’s been an absolute privilege to have a front-row seat watching her grow into the intelligent, kind, godly young woman that she is. But this senior year has been A. LOT. In addition to all the typical May chaos of finals, recitals, award ceremonies, and more, there is the graduation itself, the party, and the post-high school plans. With no school support staff planning the graduation ceremony. No guidance counselor helping with college applications, SAT testing, or transcripts. You get the idea.

I would love to say that my spiritual life was strong through this season. That I started every day with devotions and ended each evening in quiet time with the Lord. And to be fair, most days were hemmed in prayer, because they would have unraveled otherwise. But honestly, many weeks, the anxieties and cares of the world choked out any fruit on the vine. 

Oh, there were times when I paused to call on Him for help. For guidance during disagreements in a group where I volunteered. For healing and encouragement for suffering brothers and sisters. For forgiveness when unkind words flowed from my burnt-out heart. For peace as I contemplated my oldest leaving home. And I was humbled when He always answered. Why would He come through for me, when I had let things like cake orders, financial aid paperwork, and scrubbing the bathroom before my mother-in-law visited take my eyes off His Kingdom?

His reminder was simple: It wasn't, and never has been, about what I did or didn’t do. It was about what He did. 

This gentle answer reminded me of one of my favorite passages from the Bible, found in Genesis 15. No, it’s not the idyllic scene in verses 4 through 6, where Abram finally surrenders to God after trying to number the stars. Though that passage definitely factors in.

A few verses later, in verse 8, we find Abraham brooding again about how God’s promises can come true without an heir. Our incredibly patient Father instructs Abram to slaughter a heifer, a goat, and a ram. Abram splits animals in half and arranges them on the ground, creating a grisly pathway between the pieces. Many scholars believe Abram set up an ancient Middle Eastern covenant ritual. During this ceremony, the parties walked together between the pieces, pledging that they should face a fate similar to the animals if they broke the agreement. 

Except Abram never walked through the pieces. God knocked Abram out, then passed between the pieces Himself. Verse 18 tells us that “on that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram.” But since Abram didn’t pass through the pieces, the covenant depended on God’s faithfulness, not Abram’s.

The example of Abram - who became Abraham - isn’t just a story confined to the Old Testament. Paul talks about him a lot, especially when explaining how believers are made right with God by their faith in Jesus. Paul channels the Genesis 15 story when he wrote Romans 4:1-5.  “The Message” translation puts it like this:  

“So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things? If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we’re given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story. What we read in Scripture is, “Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.

If you’re a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don’t call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it’s something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift.”

Living worthy is important. It’s our calling, and we should strive for it every day. Living worthy honors the sacrifice Jesus made for us, and often gives us opportunities to influence others for His Kingdom. But because we are human, we will fall short of this standard. And when we find distance between us and God, it’s because we moved, not Him. 

But when we realize this and seek Him, He won’t snub us. He isn’t mad. He is delighted that his beloved child returned to Him. Because, after all, once a queen of Narnia, always a queen of Narnia. 

Fellow queens, if you’re holding back from God because it’s been a minute since you prayed, since you sat with Him, stop. He is still right there, waiting for you, with open arms. After all, it never was about you being worthy. It always was about Him.

-Kristin Yarbrough, Worthy Content Writer