An Invitation

“The wedding feast is ready… go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.” ~Matthew 22:8-9

I have a painting of a ship on the wall of my study. I love to stare at it. When I do, I can faintly hear the sound of the ocean and smell the salt air. Had I any hair, I imagine I would be able to feel the wind blowing through it. My mind often goes to that scene in C. S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where Lucy Pevensie remarks to her nasty cousin Eustace Scrubb how much she loves a painting of a ship on the wall in her aunt and uncle’s home. She speaks of how the water appears really wet and the ship as if it were actually moving. Suddenly, her hair beings to whip around her face and the smell of briny water overwhelms the room. The children (Edmund was there, too) are even sprayed by a great cold, salty splash of water! Well, I’m sure you remember what happens next — the children are all transported into Narnia.

For Lucy and Edmund, this was a great delight. One could even call it an answer to prayer. Every time the Pevensie children were able to steal a few moments alone together they would speak of Narnia. They remembered fondly their former adventures, old friends, and the kingdom over which they ruled for many, many years. Eustace, on the other hand, found their stories rather annoying. He thought everything they had spoken about was made up, and he loved to tease them about it all.

Isn’t that how it sometimes feels when talking about Christ, salvation, heaven, and corporate worship to a non-believing friend or co-worker? Perhaps you’ve had that experience. You talk about how great the singing was this last Lord’s Day. Or you talk about a recent funeral as if it were an occasion to celebrate God’s mercy and steadfast love. Suddenly your friend morphs into Eustace Scrubb and stares at you like you’ve grown a third eye. But we know. We know what Narnia is like. We’ve been there. And it is amazing! Don’t we want everyone to come?

The thing about the picture on the wall was that it didn’t discriminate between believers and skeptics. It didn’t keep Eustace out because he thought the story was foolishness whilst drawing Lucy and Edmund in because they longed to be with their Narnia friends, like Prince Caspian. The invitation was wide open. The picture was a portal into Narnia for anyone upon whose face the water sprayed. 

Friends, in just over a month we are going to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are going to gather for what may be the most well-attended worship service of the year. For many skeptics, occasional visitors, or unbelieving family and friends, Easter Sunday marks the one occasion where the briny air whips through their hair and the spray of the sea wets their faces. Would you commit over the next several weeks to pray that the Lord would put a specific person on your heart and then make the intentional move of inviting him or her (or all of them!) to worship with us this Resurrection Sunday? 

Eustace eventually believed. He had to go through a lot of pain to get there (even turning into a dragon for a time), but in the end, the unwanted splash of the sea proved to be his salvation. Pray with me that God would remove the dragon skin from many hearts as we bring them into His world on April 5th. Aslan is still on the move.

Rev. Kyle Lockhart, Pastor