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This is the Real Faith Podcast where we talk about a movie clip, a scripture, and make an application. We hope these provide encouragement to you. I'm your host, Chuck Bower. After a successful church ministry of 28 years, I became a public school teacher currently teaching high school English. We hope you are blessed by these episodes. Have you guys ever gone to Sunday school? PUNY GOD! I love you. I know. Welcome back to Real Faith.
Thank you so much for tuning in and thank you for spreading the word about the podcast on social media. I really appreciate it. For the four episodes in February, I will be talking about love. We throw that word around a lot. We love our spouses. We love our kids. We love pizza. We love sunsets. We love to travel. You get the idea. We use the same English word to describe a strong feeling. At least that's how we normally talk about love, right? But it's more than a feeling. Sorry Boston.
So for the next four weeks, we'll look at types and examples of love and we'll see what God's word says as we try to walk closer with Him. Our first clip comes from a classic children's story, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I recently re-read the short book and re-watched the movie. By the way, it's currently playing on Disney+. If you have young children, I highly recommend getting them this book series.
Depending on their ages, you could read it to them or they could read it on their own. I read it to my boys as they were growing up and it's a wonderful memory for me. Greta Gerwig, director of the hit movie Barbie, is rebooting the series for Netflix with the first movie releasing in theaters Thanksgiving of 2026. But back to our movie. It came out 20 years ago in 2005. It was directed by Andrew Adamson, who directed the other Narnia movies, as well as several Shrek movies.
It stars Tilda Swinton as the White Witch, Liam Neeson voices Aslan. And here's one I didn't remember until I just watched it recently. James McAvoy is Mr. Tumnus. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of four British siblings who have to move out to the countryside because of the bombings of World War II. They live in a huge mansion with an old professor and his housekeeper. One day the children are bored and they decide to play hide and go seek.
Lucy decides to hide in the wardrobe in an empty bedroom. And as she walks through the furs that are hanging up to the back of the wardrobe, she is transported to Narnia, where she meets Mr. Tumnus and has tea with him. Of course, he is supposed to turn her in to the White Witch because there's a prophecy concerning the sons and daughters of Adam. He shares this news with Lucy, but then leads her back to the lamp post so that she can return to her own world.
Lucy runs to tell the others and of course they don't believe her and the wardrobe is just a normal wardrobe when she tries to show them. Don't you hate it when that happens? There's another time that the kids try to get into the wardrobe, however, and punky brother Edmund gets through. He meets the White Witch and he makes a deal with her just to get more Turkish delight.
Eventually, all four Penzi's siblings end up in Narnia and Edmund sneaks off to make good on his deal, only to realize the White Witch isn't going to keep her end of it. Eventually, the children get with Aslan, but the White Witch arrives to claim the blood of a traitor, that of Edmund. And we get the first part of our clip of the week. You have a traitor in your midst, Aslan. His offense was not against you. Have you forgotten the laws upon which Narnia was built?
Do not cite the deep magic to me, witch. I was there when it was written. Then you'll remember well that every traitor belongs to me. His blood is my property. Try and take him then. Do you really think that mere force will deny me my right, little king? Aslan knows that unless I have blood as the law demands, all of Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water. That boy will die on the stone table. As is tradition. You dare not refuse me. Enough. I don't talk with you alone.
The White Witch comes to Aslan and she claims Edmund's blood, right? Because he's a traitor. She states that the law of the land demands blood. Edmund's blood. We see this in scripture time and time again. Especially in the Old Testament. I'm currently reading through Deuteronomy and I think we forget that there had to be an accounting for every sin. So many of them required blood. Blood of a sacrificial animal or even the blood of the guilty.
It's very humbling to think about us and our sins and the price that was paid. But let's go back to thinking about love for a moment. Think of the most popular verse in the Bible. What is it? John 3 16, right? Don't we have that one memorized? Didn't we learn that very early in life? Whether it be in Sunday school or VBS or children's church. Let me read it from the King James version because I think that is how most people know it.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. 25 words that have changed the world and continue to change lives today. Let me just focus on the first phrase. God so loved the world. Think about that for a second. I mean you could preach a series of sermons on that one phrase. God so loved the world. To put it in practical terms we can say or you can say I mean something to God.
If you're listening someplace where you can say this statement out loud, do it. Try it. Say I mean something to God. What else needs to be said? A.W. Tozer wrote that this verse and phrase sums up the whole intent of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Tozer writes quote, God has his eyes upon me and is emotionally concerned about me. If this simple message could rise above the confusion of the religious world, it would offer hope to those who embrace it. End quote.
Now I don't know about you but I feel so much better thinking about this verse and its implications. God loves us and we mean something to God. We can take it further. Love is a verb as the saying goes. So how does God love us? What action does he do or has he done? Well let's go back to our clip of the week and finish this clip up. The White Witch has renounced her claim on the Trader's Blood because of course later we find out Aslan has promised to give himself up in Edmund's place.
That sounds familiar doesn't it? Aslan the King taking the place of Edmund the Trader. Romans 5 8 tells us and I'm back to reading from the New Living Translation, but God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Boom. That's how God puts action into his love. He sent Christ to die in our place. Just like Aslan died in Edmund's place. When you read the book or you see the movie you don't like Edmund. He's a punk.
Out of the four children he's the least likable. But isn't that the perfect connection? In our sins we're punks. We're not likable. But while we were sinners Christ died for us. Why? Because God loves you. You matter to God. And God shows his great love for you by letting Christ die in your place. I hope this message stirs within your heart an inclination that grows as you reciprocate that love back to God and others. Until next time remember again, you are loved.
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