Do You Have to Have a Personal Relationship with Jesus?

Some things I learned from Aslan.

Joy and I loved reading to our children. When they were toddlers, the kids’ favorites included Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny, and Where the Wild Things Are. The material got more sophisticated as they grew older. Our daughter was especially fond of C. S. Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles.

Reading those books to her was my first exposure to them. That might surprise you. After all, Lewis appears on the Episcopal Church’s saints’ calendar (November 22). And I am a bishop in that church. But there you have it. Until then I had known Aslan only by reputation.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Friends had shared with me fond childhood memories of hearing their parents read those stories. So, I assumed that Aslan was mostly kid stuff. Fit for cartoons and coloring books. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe set me straight.

Through Aslan, Lewis seeks to connect us to Jesus in a way that the intellect alone cannot achieve. In both his fiction and nonfiction writings, Lewis insists that a personal relati…