What if your life has been surrounded by darkness for so long that you begin to wonder if light ever truly existed?

In a previous post, I shared how we are all born with an innate desire for the Light (Jesus), because we were created by Him and for Him. And yet, that doesn’t negate the fact that many of us have seen true darkness in this world, and many more have experienced it firsthand in ways that have deeply affected their lives and outlook on the world. For many, they have been so surrounded by shadows that darkness feels more real than light and hope ever will. For others, they’ve been lured by so many other false “lights” that the real light seems but a distant memory.

How then do we remember the light?

Lessons from The Silver Chair

In one of my favorite books by C. S. Lewis, The Silver Chair, Jill and Eustace are sent on a quest to find Narnia’s missing prince. They team up with a marsh-wiggle named Puddleglum, whom Jill aptly describes as a wet blanket in the beginning of the book.

After a long journey where everything goes awry, the travelers finally find Prince Rilian who had been lured away and held captive by the Lady of the Green Kirtle in Underland. During the day, he is under the Lady’s spell, and he cannot remember who he is, what Narnia is, nor can he remember Aslan. At night he comes to himself, but is bound to a silver chair.

Just after Jill and Eustace free Prince Rilian, the Lady of the Green Kirtle comes into the room and casts a green enchantment powder into the fire. As the sweet smoke fills the room, making them drowsy, she plays her mandolin-like instrument and tries to convince them all that there is no such thing as a place called Narnia. She claims there is no such thing as the sun, and no Aslan. The only truth is what they can see and experience in that moment: Underland.

As her enchantment grows, Puddleglum rushes to the fire, stomping it out with his webbed feet, stopping the enchantment smoke from spreading and filling their heads. He then grasps toward the truth and speaks it:

“Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we’re leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that’s a small loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say.”

This speech finally does it, and everyone is snapped out of the enchantment. They battle the Lady of the Green Kirtle and win, stealing away from Underland as it collapses behind them. They rush upward through the tunnels and emerge, perhaps even poetically, into a starry winter night in Narnia.

The Danger of False Lights

The danger of following after anything that glows is that not every light is the true light. This is what happened to Prince Rilian. He was taken in by the Lady of the Green Kirtle, falling under the spell and the charm of her voice and believing that all her claims were true. Her appearance was so outwardly beautiful that her true nature was hidden from him.

Darkness isn’t always obvious because it often disguises itself as light. Paul warned the church of Corinth against false apostles and teachers who were claiming to come under the name of God, only to sway the people towards false teaching and doctrine. Paul warned them that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Later on Paul instructs the Ephesians to expose darkness (Ephesians 5:8, 11).

Paul’s solution to false light is to expose darkness for what it is. This is what Puddleglum did in The Silver Chair. His mind was still half-muddled from the enchantment, his feet were burnt and bleeding, but he refused to believe a lie even though in that instant he couldn’t see the truth clearly. It was this that pulled everyone back from the enchantment. He spoke against the lie and gave truth a place to take hold.

This is the same calling God has given each and every one of us. He has called us to expose the darkness and not be satisfied existing alongside it. Many of us have become comfortable letting others define what is and isn’t true. Jesus paid far too much on the cross to redeem us from sin and darkness for us to remain silent when we know what the truth is and who the Light is. Speaking the truth may be costly. But truth, no matter its price, is always worth it in the end.

God has strong opinions against people who blur light and darkness:

“What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.” – Isaiah 5:20 (NLT)

To Those Who Can’t Remember the Sun

But what of those of us who have been surrounded by illusions and shadows for so long that we cannot even recall if the sun and stars are actually true? What if we can’t expose the dark because we can no longer tell which light is real?

Puddleglum shows us what to do. In a way, he wasn’t 100% certain of the truth of his words, but even in his doubt he held to his conviction because he knew there had to be a better reality than the one the Lady was trying to convince them of. He had never seen Aslan, and so couldn’t prove his belief in him. But he could decide what he would believe in, and he chose to believe in the truth even when he couldn’t prove it. He chose the sun and the true light over a reality without them.

Maybe, like Puddleglum, you haven’t seen Aslan and can’t prove your faith in God. But you don’t have to pretend to see the sun in order to believe in it. 

The only thing that will expel the power of a lie is the truth. How do we find the truth? We remember. This is why Israel stacked twelve stones at the Jordan, so that when the next generation asked what they meant, they’d remember what God had done and who He was (Joshua 4:6-7).

Puddleglum remembered the sun and trusted what he’d heard of Aslan. For us to repel the power of darkness and see the light, we must remember God and the things He has spoken even when we can’t see or prove them in that instant.

Like Puddleglum, we must “live as like a Narnian as we can,” despite the circumstances. It is that choice that leads us to the light. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be real.

If you have never belonged to Jesus or doubt the truth that He even is real, then I would invite you to ask Him to make it clear to you. He is kind and loving enough to meet you where you’re at. If you have forgotten the sun, choose to believe in it again. If you have never seen it, then ask God to show you.

God will never leave us in the shadows. He is more powerful than any hold darkness can have over us. Whether we see it in this moment or not, His light can penetrate to the deepest places and guide us back to Himself. My prayer for you is that you would encounter the Light and remember the sun.

Thanks for reading!
Anna

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Photo by Oleg Demakov on Unsplash