I’m reviewing a great little book that fellow Narnians would, I’m sure, enjoy as much as I do: Doug Wilson’s What I Learned in Narnia. Not all moralizing is bad: Wilson artfully reveals the morals in various pericopes of the Narnia septet. He provides seven chapters expounding different themes in Lewis’ precious work, including authority, confession of sin, love of story, thorough grace, and nobility.
One little point struck me just now as I read an e-mail promise I wrote several months ago: to be noble, Wilson says, you must be a man of your word. It strikes me (especially after three years of marriage) that more than half of the trouble of being a man of your word is remembering your word. I’m more likely to forget my promises than purposefully break them. But that forgetfulness is in itself a violation of my word.
Perhaps that’s why God chose to tell us so often that He “remembered his covenant” with Israel. One common problem is making covenants and promises without counting the cost, without any real understanding of what keeping those promises will mean. But Exodus 2:24 shows that God was willing to display power on a scale that few sinners had ever seen in order to keep those promises. His people were in such slavery that “a high hand” was necessary.
Marriage vows are easy to make in a well-decorated church before an ordained minister, a beaming bride, and a few hundred of your closest friends. That memory fades easily, though, when you’re alone and not beaming. That’s the measure of your vows: what circumstances you’re willing to endure, and how much adversity you’re willing to overcome.
Thanks for a thought-provoking reminder of God’s faithfulness and true nobility!