Voyage of the Dawn Treader

We went to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader today. And I have 3 words. Amazing. Profound. Beautiful.

I almost cried several times throughout the movie, and others in my family had tears streaming down their faces at the end. Lewis' story is so beautiful when you look at in light of Christ. This movie portrayed that profound beauty so well. I wish that I had written down some of the lines so I could share them with all of you!

The plot of the movie (which you MUST discover for yourself!) is another journey to Narnia in which each of the characters are tested with fear and temptation. The depravity of man emerged as you saw human's innate tendency to turn to selfishness in each character's heart.

Lucy was my favorite character. She is now a blossoming teenage girl who is longing to be seen as beautiful, longing to be loved. Her desire for physical beauty becomes an idol to her, until Aslan gently shows her what it means to embrace the beauty given to you. God so gently does this with His children as well. He is so patient to remind us over and over again that He formed us and fashioned us. We need not do anything to change who we are.

Eustace, a new character introduced in this film, is a nasty boy until he is transformed by Aslan. When asked by Edmund and Lucy how it felt to be changed by Aslan he remarked, "It hurt, and I couldn't do it alone. But He helped me, and it was a good pain." Is that not how it feels to let God grip our hearts too? It hurts to let him in, let him scrape away the sinful parts but it's a good, freeing pain. It's beautiful.

Perhaps the most moving part of the movie, though, was when the characters are presented with an opportunity to see "Aslan's land." Once you go to this land, you may never come back. Reepecheep, the mouse, says, "My longing for that place can never be quenched. I could go on countless adventures in this place and never find my desire for Aslan's land fulfilled." Oh how that reflects a Christian's desire for heaven. That beautiful ache in our heart that reminds us that we are merely nomads, wanderers on this earth. Regardless of how many material possessions we aquire, that longing will not be fulfilled until we see God's face in Heaven. It will be beautiful!

So I left the theater feeling refreshed and encouraged. This movie is definitely worth seeing this Christmas break! :)