In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, something interesting happens when the children first hear about the great lion, Aslan.
They’re not ready to meet him yet. They simply hear his name.
And immediately something stirs inside each of them. Each has a slightly different reaction. Lucy feels a sense of joy and excitement. Edmund feels nervous and uneasy. The very mention of Aslan awakens something deeper than curiosity.
So Susan asks the sensible question: “Is he safe?”
Mr. Beaver’s response is one of the most famous lines in the entire series: “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.”
Aslan isn’t a tame lion. And that’s precisely the point.
Sometimes, if we’re honest, we would prefer a tame God. A safe God. A predictable God. A God who fits neatly into our expectations and affirms all our plans. A God who mostly stays in the background and occasionally offers encouragement.
But the God of Scripture is not like that.
When the prophet Isaiah glimpses God’s holiness, he falls to his knees and cries out, “Woe to me!” (Isaiah 6:5). When the disciples watch Jesus calm the storm on the Sea of Galilee, their reaction is more awe than relief: “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4:41).
God’s holiness has a way of unsettling us. It makes us wonder why God loves us so deeply. It makes us question whether we can live up to expectations.
And perhaps that’s one reason Lent matters. It reminds us that faith isn’t merely about comfort. It’s about our encounter with the cross and the One who willingly died on the cross. It’s about standing before a God who isn’t safe or tame or manageable—but who is completely good. And it’s about remembering that the great God of the universe came to us to bring us to him … for no reason other than love.
A God who calls ordinary people to follow him. A God who overturns tables in the temple. A God who eats with anyone and everyone. A God who walks steadily toward a cross.
And in the end, God’s goodness is far more trustworthy than safety ever could be.
Prayer: Lord God, you are holy, and sometimes your holiness unsettles me. Help me not to shrink you down to something comfortable or predictable. Give me the courage to trust your goodness, even when your ways surprise me. Amen.
