Heroes of Narnia and Real Life

It was one of those great stories that you can't put down at night
The hero knew what he had to do and he wasn't afraid to fight
The villain goes to jail while the hero goes free
I wish it were that simple for me

And the reason that she loved him
Was the reason I loved him too
And he never wondered what was right or wrong
He just knew, he just knew

Shadow and shade mix together at dawn
But by the time you catch them simplicity's gone
So we sort through the pieces, my friends and I
Searching through the darkness to find the breaks in the sky

And the reason that she loved him
Was the reason I loved him too
And he never wondered what was right or wrong
He just knew, he just knew

And we wonder yes, we wonder
How do you make sense of this
When the hero kills the maiden
With his kiss, with his kiss


It was one of those great stories that you can't put down at night
The hero knew what he had to do and he wasn't afraid to fight
The villain goes to jail while the hero goes free
I wish it were that simple for me
It were that simple for me

David Crosby - "Hero" - from his CD Thousand Roads


I realize David Crosby has had a long struggle with his substance addictions and that is partly what this song is about, but it rings true for all of us. In fact, when I hear this song it always reminds me of the stories we read about Jesus in the Word (although Jesus had no specific "she," we do know that he had female followers that were very devoted to Him and His ministry). Fact is, none of us, Christians or not, always do the right thing, and life is very rarely "simple." And often we do injure those we love unintentionally ("...the hero kills the lady with his kiss...") The song reminds me that a good story presents us with an ideal to strive for - but I'd say the best story, the ideal put forth in this song, is the story of Jesus.

But that doesn't mean that stories about less-perfect heroes can't have a grand impact on us. Today I was looking at some photos of the characters from the upcoming The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe film, and particularly the pictures of Peter and Edmund struck me as capturing their characters from the books admirably. For any who do not know, the story is about four children, two boys and two girls, who travel through a magic door into a fairly-tale land where they defeat a witch, who has enslaved the land in winter, with the help of a Christlike lion named Aslan. The children learn that they are to be kings and queens of Narnia from then on. The picture of the oldest child, Peter, shows him in the midst of battle... he looks like he doesn't really know quite what he is doing, but he is battling with all of his might. The picture of Edmund, his younger brother and the third-oldest sibling, shows him slinking around a little, looking like he thinks he's not worth much and he's out to prove it (and his misbehavior in the story is one of the primary plot points). They strike me as perfect representations of real brothers... an older brother who isn't any less clueless than the younger, but who is doing his best, and the younger brother who thinks he can never measure up to the (impossible) image of the older brother that he has constructed in his mind.

Neither of them thinks they can do what they have been called on to do... but both are princes in the land of Aslan. It's one of those great stories, that's for sure... one that echoes the lives of people in general, children specifically, and Christians more metaphorically. I hope one day someone can tell my story... not that it's a remarkable one, but maybe it will interest somebody... and they will tell of my flaws, but in the end I will, with Christ's help, fulfill my calling and provide an example that can encourage that person to follow after Jesus.