In my kindergarten class, we’ve been reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. If you’re not familiar with it, Lewis’s novel parallels the Easter story in a captivating way. At the peak of the story, Aslan, a lion and the King of Narnia, gives his life so that Edmund, who deserved death, could live.
I’ve been nervous to get to the part of the story where the witch kills Aslan, because I didn’t know how my students would react. Would they be able to handle such a terrible scene? Would it scare them? Would they understand the point of the story?
Last week, we read about how the great lion allowed himself to be hurt, mocked, and killed. There were tears in the room as we finished the chapter and I asked the students what Aslan’s death reminded them of.
The very first kindergartener who raised his hand answered, “It’s like the story of Jesus!”
The craziest part was that later that day, my assistant teacher had planned a Bible lesson on Jesus’s death on the cross. We hadn’t even planned to pair the lessons like that, but it worked out beautifully.
Understanding Aslan’s great love for Edmund helped the students begin to see God’s great love for them.
The next day, we read about how Aslan rose from the dead. The moment Aslan’s voice returned to the story, our classroom erupted into loud cheers of victory. “I knew he would come back to life!” one of the kids shouted with glee. “Aslan is stronger than the witch!” another said. And quite a few sang out, “Yay! Aslan is back!”
I was impacted by this display of genuine emotions from five and six year olds. They responded to Aslan’s death with so much sadness that some of them had tears rolling down their cheeks. And they responded to news of his resurrection with so much glee and elation that almost all of them were shouting out with joy.
And it quickly took me to a place of self-reflection as I wondered… do I still respond to the Easter story with that depth of emotion? Does reading or hearing about Jesus’s death on the cross bring me to sadness to the point of tears? Does reading or hearing about Jesus’s resurrection make me leap with joy?
In simpler terms, do I experience authentic sadness and authentic joy every time I remember the story of Jesus’s death and resurrection?
To be completely honest with you, I’ve lost some of that emotion. I’ve heard the story so many times that I think I can forget the power of it, and the depth of love. I still believe and love the Easter story, but I don’t read it like someone who’s reading it for the first time.
So my prayer this Easter is that I could see the story of Jesus’s death and resurrection, the story of the cross, through the eyes of a child. I want to experience the depth of emotions that my kiddos experienced when we were reading about Aslan. I want to be hit by the incredible truth that Jesus loves me so much he took the wages of my sin and he died for me.
And friend, I pray the same for you. This Easter, may we all experience the story of Jesus through the eyes of a child. Because it’s a powerful story. It’s a big story. And I think it warrants some rolling tears and some shouts of joy.
So let’s remember Jesus’s death. Let’s cry together. Let’s remember that, like one of my kindergartners said on Monday, “Jesus died for US.”And let’s shout for joy. Jesus is alive! And his love endures forever.
By the way, never forget… you are onederfully created.
Love,
Becca
