CS Lewis, The Silver Chair, and Remembering the Signs

One of my favorite chapters in the entire Narnia series is the second chapter of The Silver Chair. In it one of the main characters, Jill Pole, finds herself having entered another world, a liminal world, face to face with Aslan. Unbeknownst to her she is on the Mountain of Aslan, far away from Narnia, in an almost heavenly setting.

There are many noteworthy things about her conversation with Aslan, but the meat of their discussion sets the tone for the entire book. Aslan explains that in Narnia is a king, King Caspian, who is old and dying and without an heir. His only son, Rilian, has been kidnapped and missing for quite some time. Aslan sets before Jill her quest: “I lay on you this command, that you seek this lost prince until either you have found him and brought him to his father’s house, or else died in the attempt, or else gone back into your own world.”

This is a monumental quest, though Jill is completely unaware at this point what pitfalls and problems lay before her. Still bewildered from her recent fall into this unknown universe, and still unsure of whom this great talking Lion is, she asks how she is to carry out her quest. At this point Aslan give her four signs, four specific things Jill is to look for and do in order to track down and rescue the lost prince. These four signs will guide her path. He has her repeat the signs to him in order, patiently correcting her as she goes, reminding her that her first task is to remember the signs above all else. Once she feels confident that she can remember the signs, he walks with her to the edge of the mountain cliff—Alsan is about to blow her to Narnia on his breath of his mouth.

“But long before she had got anywhere near the edge, the voice behind her said, ‘Stand still. In a moment I will blow. But first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn you from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters. And now, Daughter of Eve, farewell—’”

I love how CS Lewis writes of this final word to Jill: “the voice behind her said . . .” It is a like the promise made by God through Isaiah the prophet: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21). This verse reflects the heart of a God who longs to lead and guide His people with His voice and walking presence.

But how does God lead and guide? The interaction on Aslan’s Mountain offers a picture of God’s guidance. First, God is a God of revelation. He is a God who speaks. At times He has revealed himself in an audible voice and visible form with His servants the prophets. Much like Moses on the mountain of God, Jill was having a face to face encounter. “With him [Moses] I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord” (Numbers 12:12). Likewise, many of us have perhaps had “mountain-top” moments where the voice of the Lord rang crystal-clear in our hearts and minds, those moments where “the air is clear and your mind is clear” and the direction of God is undeniable. The apostle Paul prayed for a spirit of “wisdom and revelation” for the Christians in Ephesus, so that they might know God more fully (Ephesians 1:17).

But secondly, God invites our obedience simply through the avenue of remembering. “But first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night.” Aslan echoes of an ancient Scripture repeated weekly by believing Jews, in a prayer known as the sh’ma: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

God often gives a huge download of revelation and then invites us to take note of it, remember it, and walk in that revealed truth. As Aslan says, “Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.” To have one’s heart set on remembering the revealed Word of God is the crux of obedience. The Bible places such a huge importance on remembering, and there is such an abundance of stories of God’s people sinning through simple forgetfulness. We are invited to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16) as we set our mind on things above (v.2). Through the basic discipline of renewing and renovating our thoughts we are transformed inwardly (Romans 12:2), as we ponder and dwell on the things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). The fact is that the air in our Narnia is thick and the tasks God has given us do not often look as we expect. Many factors work against us in remembering.

Even in The Silver Chair, Jill is very prone to forget the signs given by Aslan. Her natural forgetfulness comes out many times. More frightening is the Queen of the Underland, the Witch responsible for Prince Rilian’s kidnapping, is working against Jill and her companions. Through a plot of cleverly laid distractions, Jill finds herself off on the wrong track. Then one night, in chapter 8, she has a dream:

“It seemed to her that she awake in the same room and saw the fire, sunk low and red, and in the firelight a great wooden horse. And the horse came of its own will, rolling on its wheels across the carpet, and stood at her head. And now it was no longer a horse but a lion as big as the horse. And then it was not a toy lion, but a real lion, The Real Lion, just as she had seen him on the mountain beyond the World’s End. And a smell of all sweet-smelling things there are filled the room. But there was some trouble in Jill’s mind, though she could not think of what it was, and the tears streamed down her face and wet the pillow. The Lion told her to repeat the signs, and she found that she had forgotten them all.”

Like Aslan, the Spirit of God continually guides and draws us back to the words spoken by Christ. The Holy Spirit, our Counselor, not only teaches us new things (John 14:26) and tells us the things to come (John 16:13), but also reminds us of the things already revealed (John 14:26).

The reminder from CS Lewis is to remember the words of Christ, to repeat them to ourselves day and night; so that we can follow the entire quest he sets before us.

It is interesting that when Aslan appears in Jill’s dream it is not to merely convey words to her, but his presence, and along with it something for all five of her dreaming senses to experience. In fact it is the memory of Aslan’s presence that most stands out to Jill. Even very early in her quest she is asked about the earnestness of her mission. She responds: “‘About the lost prince, you mean?’ said Jill. ‘Yes we’ve got to be.’ For now she remembered the Lion’s voice and face, which she had nearly forgotten during the feasting and storytelling in the hall.” It is the voice and face of Aslan she remembers most, and with this, she remembers the signs.

I find it most helpful, when I am trying to practice the daily, moment-to-moment meditation of God’s word, to not so much focus on literal words on a page, but the story of the Scriptures itself. I like to picture myself there with Jesus, hearing him speak, listening to his words, seeing his face, experiencing his surroundings. As I walk along (on a good day) my aim is to imagine Jesus walking with me. Is this a crutch? Isn’t meditation on God more abstract than this? Perhaps it can be, but until I get to that plain (if it even exists) I remember that God created us with vivid imaginations and we can use them for his glory. This is one simple way to practice the very real presence of God.

Rick Richardson talks about practicing the real presence of God in his book, Experiencing Healing Prayer: “We have immense difficulty practicing God’s presence and keeping God’s reality before our mind’s eye because we have dismissed or denigrated our capacity to intuitively and imaginatively apprehend and encounter God.”

In Lewis’ book, Miracles, he speaks about God’s presence as a very real thing: “The Presence of God is the most real thing we ever encounter. If we are to have an appropriate image of God’s presence, we should envision God’s Presence as something heavier than matter.” How does knowing this change us or renew our minds? Because it reminds us that God is not too far off or far away. That He is a God that is real and really present, operating in space and time, a God who took on human flesh.

Let us be people who dive deeply into God’s word continually to refresh our minds in his great stories and commands.

“The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letter that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in . . . We can do it only for moments at first. But from those moments the new sort of life will be spreading thought our systems because now we are lettering him word at the right part of us.” (CS Lewis, Mere Christianity)