The Chronicles of Narnia had played a significant role in my life. I’ve read them several times, along with many other of the writings of C.S. Lewis. Narnia was a world created by Lewis to tell the story of Jesus to children. Aslan, the great Lion, is the Christ-figure in the story who gives up his life to free one child from captivity and the world from perpetual winter. 

In The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Lucy and Susan ask Mrs. Beaver (the animals can talk):

“Ooh,” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver. “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe? Said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

This passage is my favorite part of the story because Mr. Beaver shares that Aslan is not safe, but he is good. As we consider the goodness of God, following God is not always safe. God called Abram to leave his family and his country for an unknown land. God’s path led Joseph to prison. Jesus called the disciples to leave everything behind to follow him. God is not safe. But God is good.

Too often, the Western Church has pursued safety rather than following the Lion of Judah. We want sanitized song lyrics, TV shows, and movies without language or violence, and we hope that our children will grow into friendly adults rather than seeking to follow Jesus into the challenging and adventurous places in our lives. Jesus calls us to give up everything, to crucify our old self to the cross. God is not safe. But God is good.

Have you been seeking safety rather than trusting in God’s goodness through the adventure of discipleship? Have we traded the joy of following Jesus for a bland version of Christianity that is free of risks? When we eliminate the risk of following Jesus, we find that we are no longer following Jesus. Let us put our trust in God’s goodness and take a leap of faith as we risk it all to follow Jesus.