"That, O Man, is Cair Paravel of the four thrones, in one of which you must sit as King. I show it to you because you are the firstborn and you will be High King over all the rest."
And once more Peter said nothing, for at that moment a strange noise woke the silence suddenly. It was like a bugle, but richer.
"It is your sister's horn," said Aslan to Peter in a low voice; so low as to be almost a purr, if it is not disrespectful to think of a Lion purring.
For a moment Peter did not understand. Then, when he saw all the other creatures start forward and heard Aslan say with a wave of his paw, "Back! Let the Prince win his spurs," he did understand, and set off running as hard as he could to the pavilion. And there he saw a dreadful sight.
The Naiads and the Dryads were scattering in every direction. Lucy was running toward him as fast as her short legs would carry her and her face was as white as paper. Then he saw Susan make a dash for a tree, and swing herself up, followed by a huge grey beast. At first Peter thought it was a bear. Then he saw that it looked like an Alsation, though it was far too big to be a dog. then he realized that it was a wolf - a wolf standing on its hind legs, with its front paws against the tree trunk, snapping and snarling. All the hair on its back stood up on end. Susan had not been able to get higher than the second branch. One of her legs hung down so that her foot was only an inch or two above the snapping teeth. Peter wondered why she did not get higher or at least take a better grip; then he realized that she was going to faint and that if she fainted she would fall off.
Peter did not feel very brave; indeed he felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do. He rushed straight up to the monster and aimed a slash of his sword at its side. That stroke never reached the Wolf. Quick as lightning it turned roung, its eyes flaming, and its mouth wide open in a howl of anger. If it had not been so angry that it simply had to howl it would have got him by the throat at once. As it was - though all this happened too quickly for Peter to think at all - he had just time to duck down and plunge his sword, as hard as he could, between the brute's forelegs into its heart. then came a horrible, confused moment like something in a nightmare. He was tugging and pulling and the Wolf seemed neither alive nor dead, and its bared teeth knocked against his forehead, and everything was blood and heat and hair. A moment later he found that the monster lay dead and he had drawn sword out of it and was straightening his back and rubbing the sweat off his face and out of his eyes. He felt tired all over
-The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
What does it mean for Peter to win his spurs? How do you think Peter acquits himself? When in life have you had to prove yourself?
I feel like Peter had to 'earn his spurs' in order to prove to Aslan that he could be a good leader. Aslan did not let any of the other creatures go and save Susan because he knew that Peter would learn nothing unless he did it himself. By being faced with a terrifying situation, Peter was taken out of his comfort-zone, and left with no other option than to face the Wolf. Aslan chose Peter for a specific purpose and forced him to face this as a way to prepare him for the challenges and battles he would face in the future. By killing the Wolf, Peter proved to Aslan that he could take charge.
Lately, in my own life, I have had to prove myself through tough decisions, and who I have chosen to trust in those situations. Too often I take the 'easy' way out and try to rely on my own judgement, which then leads me to more tough roads and choices. Instead of letting go and trusting God to give me strength, I worry and make decisions based on emotions. I believe that God wants me to learn how to be more discerning. If I could stop trying to prove myself to the world and started trying to prove myself to God, I would make much wiser decisions.
Also, sometimes God has a task that he wants just one specific person to do. I mean sure He could have anyone do it, but He sometimes has something special picked out just for you to do. We need to get to know God on a deep level so that when He calls us to do something, we recognize his voice, and don't miss out on the opportunity He has for us.
You are absolutely correct. Sometimes I feel like I don't always put my complete faith in God. I don't always let go and let Him be in control.
ReplyDeleteSo basically what your saying is... you have tough decisions to make and you don't know who to trust in those situations and therefore trust primarily in your own judgment and forget about God. You let your emotions guide you which brings you to even more tough decisions. So now your starting to believe that you could make wiser decisions and be more discerning through trying to prove yourself to God instead of the world. And the thing your trying to prove, i'm assuming, is to make the best choices in difficult decisions. It sounds like an endless cycle to me. And the only way that you can break a repeating cycle is through a shift in perception or awareness of your current situation. You have to let go and let God. You have to let go THEN let God. You cannot let God handle things for you if you think you are in complete control of your situation. Surrendering yourself to God will ultimately allow for Divine intervention to occur. But it's one thing to go to a religious event and have a conversion experience and then say "I belong to God from now on" and to actually allow yourself to become his servant. How does a servant serve his master? And is a servant truly a servant if he only listens occasionally to the master? And what too of the master? Is he truly lord over a servant if he doesn't ask the servant to serve him? You see, everyday you are tested by God. He wants to know if you live for him or yourself. So how do you serve him? How do you recognize his voice out of all the other voices? You've already answered this question and it's true, you get to know him on a deeper level. How do we do this? Through daily devotional practice, implementing a routine in which to spend a certain amount of time each day to get to know God through prayer and meditation. SO, basically, once you get in the routine of spending time with god each day he will illuminate your lens through which you see your circumstances, otherwise your just alone, in the dark, in an endless cycle of trying to figure it out on your own.
ReplyDeleteBut i'm sure you already knew this. Anyway, I hope maybe someone reading your post will benefit from this little comment.