The Great Reversal

In C. S. Lewis' masterful children's story The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, he tells of a country, Narnia, which is under the curse of the White Witch. This evil queen places a spell on the land so that it's 'always winter and never Christmas'. Under her control, the future of Narnia looks bleak until word gets out that 'Aslan is on the move'.

In the story, Aslan is a noble lion who represents Christ. He's coming to set things straight. He's coming to destroy the White Witch and thus reverse the curse on Narnia. The first sign of Aslan's movement towards this cursed land is that the snow begins to melt - 'spring is in the air'. The cold begins to fade as the sun rays peer through the dark clouds, promising the dawn of a new day. Everything in Narnia begins to change.

You'll have to read the book to see how the story ends, but when I'm asked to describe the true meaning of Christmas, I like to say that the birth of Christ is the sure and certain sign that 'God is on the move'. The arrival of Jesus two thousand years ago ensured that God had begun the process of reversing the curse of sin and recreating all things. In Jesus, God was moving in a new way and, in the words of C. S. Lewis, 'winter began stirring backwards'.

- Tullian Tchividjian, The Great Reversal

The Christmas/New Year period is a great time to reflect on what God has done for us, and will continue to do for us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:31-32 (NIV)

Incidentally, 21 December is winter solstice, the shortest day of the year (in terms of daylight hours). It is still very much winter in York at the moment, but now that 21 December has passed, winter has literally begun to stir backwards!