“Is he a man?” asked Lucy.
“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is King of the wood and the son of the great emperor-beyond-the-sea. Don’t you know who is the King of the Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great lion.”
“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” *
I’ve studied theology for almost 10 years now, but am still trying to understand what C.S. Lewis meant by the last line—that Christ, God in the flesh, isn’t safe, but he’s good.
I remember reading this line as a kid and again in my early 20s.
God recently brought me back to it during one of my devotionals last week. It's something I’ve been mulling over since.
If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them.
*Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Penguin, 1950.