“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:7-10)
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I’m a bookworm. No, I’m a bookaholic. I read a lot, buy a lot, and pile them everywhere in my room. Some people settle for borrowing or downloading. I don’t. I need to collect them. And so, my bedroom has been full of books. It is my dream to have my own study or even a small library for all those books - when I finally have a house of my own.
I’m also easily distracted. That is why I can read several books in the same span of time. I juggle from one book to another. Therefore, it could take me a while to finish them. Only the great writers can make me finish their books in one go before I move on to the next ones. Those writers include Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Y.B. Mangunwijaya, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jack London, Leo Tolstoi, and C.S. Lewis.
I’m in the process of reading the Chronicles of Narnia now. I bought all seven books last year, went into the darkness of depression, and lost interest in reading among other things. But, since I’ve been well again, I’ve been continuing with the books. For the last few nights, I’ve been reading The Voyage of The Dawn Treader. Today, I got to the part where Eustace found a dragon’s lair and was turned into a dragon himself.
What got me pondering on that part of the story was how he was cured and returned to his human form. The Great Lion Aslan found him and took him to a well, where he asked Eustace to undress before he bathed in the well. He was a dragon. To undress means to peel of his skin. So, he scratched and a layer of his skin came off. But, still there was another layer of skin and another and another. It seemed like it would take forever before he could really undress himself. Then, Aslan told him that he must let Aslan undress him. So, Aslan tore deep into his skin and peeled it off.
I haven’t read the interpretation of the Chronicles of Narnia (I will make time for it later). But, this dragon episode has made me think about sin and redemption. I was once like Eustace the Dragon before I met Jesus. I lived in sin and led a sinful life. When Jesus found me, he peeled off my dragon skin - all my sins washed away. I could not do it myself, no matter how hard I tried to be freed from my sins. And as I bathed in the “well”, my spirit was returned to life. It’s pretty much the concept of being re-born as new creation in Christ!
Well, as the story continued, Eustace changed into a better person although he had relapses. That is just how Christian life is too. After I was redeemed, I did not all of a sudden reach Christ-likeness. I am continuously transformed and renewed. There are times when I also have my own relapses, but I am now a new creation and I belong to Jesus. He will always draw me to Him.
What a story. What a great mind. What a blessing from the Holy Spirit.
Have a bless week ahead!
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