Two years ago I shared the song “I Believe in Santa Claus” and how it reminded me of thoughts and feelings I have had while a reading a certain part in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. (You can read my full post and find the song linked below if you want.)
So I found it ironic that I found myself this Christmas season thinking again about C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. This year though I been thinking about a part in the last book of the series.
In The Last Battle all of the great kings and queens and friends of Narnia have been brought together to defend the land they love from invaders and traitors. The battle converges around a stable in which the heroes of our story believe they will meet the terrifying God of their enemies. But instead, upon entering they find they have been magically transported to another world.
One characters comments, “It seems then…that the stable seen from within and the stable seen from without are two different places.”
“Yes,” replies Lord Digory. “Its inside is bigger than its outside.”
Then Queen Lucy adds, “Yes, in our world too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world.”
Obviously, Queen Lucy is referring to the stable in which the Savior of our world was born; and His presence there, His mission to atone for the sins and heartache of the world was much bigger, more eternal, more important, more divine, and more beautiful than the size and appearance of that basic enclosure for animals. That really was the point. Jesus Christ’s birth in a lowly stable set the stage for the rest of His life and for the faith required to receive Him and be saved.
Isaiah explains it best –
“For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:2-5
Even Had Christ been born in a lavishly adorned palace, or some other place deemed more suitable to a person of His importance and divinity, He still would have been “bigger” than that structure. Which makes the meekness of His birth all the more humbling and impactful. The event was heralded grandly by angels and a new star in the heavens; yet, it was the meek and humble who heard and saw and were called to come and see the sacredness of that place. The place and manner of His birth show his divinity as God’s beloved Son, as well as His mission as the Son of man, our brother, our advocate with the Father, our friend. “He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:6).
We too, like the stable, have much more on the inside than what is outwardly visible. We have divine potential as children of our Heavenly Father; because of the gift of a Savior our potential can be realized as we follow Him and learn and grow line upon line. As we partake of the power of Christ’s atonement through repentance, faith, charity, and good works, we become more, become better, become bigger than what we can ever be on our own. One of the great beauties of the Christmas season is how much more we all look for and see “the stable” in others, which inspires us to behave with more kindness, patience, and love toward them as well.
It may seem at times that our lives resemble the stable because we feel unexceptional or even unclean. Perhaps circumstances or events outside of our control are as unpleasant as the smell of livestock. But I think it’s comforting to know that Jesus Christ wasn’t born in a stable by mistake. It was fulfillment of prophecy and God’s plan. From the outside His birthplace seems at odds with his divine heritage; in fact, from an outsiders perspective Christ’s entire life was lacking the prestige and luxury that would normally be attributed to a great leader, king, and savior.
But when we look beyond the outward appearance, when we act in faith and enter “the stable,” from the inside we can see with different eyes. The Lord’s message and purpose becomes clearer, and our lives hold greater meaning and joy.
“Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. And he hath said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved.
Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope. And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
If a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.
And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all…Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.” (selected verses from Moroni chapter 7.)
I love how the light, joy, and love of the Christmas season helps me to see better and focus more on the Light of the World, Jesus Christ. In this world full of uncertainty, suffering, and sin a humble “stable” is often overlooked or ridiculed; it’s lack of status and beauty may be seen as a sign of weakness, naivety, or stupidity. But just like all those thousands of years ago I know the Savior is inside that stable waiting and wanting to receive all of God’s children. His invitation is still current and it is addressed to us all: “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Luke 11:9) Once we enter we will find more than we could have imagined, something “bigger than our whole world.” Almost another world entirely.
The Reader's Salon 