There is a Deeper Magic


Remember in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when Aslan is put to death by the Witch but is then resurrected and he tells Susan and Lucy that he is alive because he knows of a “deeper magic”?

He tells the girls “that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge only goes back to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards.”

Do you live by the Deeper Magic? Is your life marked by the effects of “Death working backwards?”

This week I’ve encountered people living lives untouched by the deeper magic of Christ. Living marked by unrelenting sorrows, following religious rules with no understanding and no hope of finding life within those rules, facing a future of escalating physical limitation, or perhaps enjoying an outwardly satisfying life but inwardly knowing no joy, no hope, no meaning. I have experienced a profound sadness with each encounter.

C.S.Lewis, who wrote The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, lived in days marked by World War I and under the gathering cloud of World War II. There was nothing rosy about his world and yet he knew the hope of death working backwards. The Apostle John also knew great sorrow and suffering, living in a time of great turmoil, Roman rule and the martyrdom of believers and yet, he wrote of Jesus in John 1:3 “Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

The great Eeyore apostle, fondly known as Doubting Thomas, does not strike me as an optimistic, cheery fellow. He seems like a serious man who always wanted proof and firsthand knowledge of events before committing himself to them. Yet, when Jesus decided to head to Judea where men were plotting His death, Thomas was willing to accompany him. His gloomy words were “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Thomas saw in Jesus a deeper magic that made death with Him seem more appealing than life without Him.

I am one of those who live by the deeper magic. I know hardship and trouble, disease and distress, panic in the dark of night and unfulfilled dreams but the roots of my life tap into a deep flowing stream that sucks living water into the marrow of my soul. My days are imbued with grace, with miracles, with rich meaning and with joy no circumstances can dislodge. This is because Jesus lives and works in my life the amazing truth of death working backwards. I am more alive today than I was yesterday and I move ever forward to the day when I am so alive I will break out of this world.

Holy week approaches and it is a good time to meet Jesus for yourself. Be like Thomas. Don’t believe what others say, go directly to the source. Read one of the gospels. Even if you’ve sat in church for a hundred years, tell Jesus you want to know Him one-to-one. Don’t let anything get in your way – not the imperfect church, not your own prejudices, not the false teaching of imposters, not your own personal darkness. Something within you rises up right now at the hope that there is a deeper magic. Don’t let that hope go unexplored. Get to Jesus.

And if you already know Him, tell Him you want to know Him more, that you’re ready to go deeper.


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7 Comments

    The Conversation

  1. Jenn Convey says:

    “so alive I will break out of this world” – I love that!! What an incredible way to put it! I’ve been reading through the Harry Potter series with Jamie and thinking about deeper magic (the real kind, not the Harry Potter kind!) as a result. There’s so much of the deep stuff here and hidden to those who don’t see. I want to see, and I’m trying to be more mindful of it. So thanks for putting words to my thoughts! 🙂

  2. Sarah says:

    I love “The Lion , The Witch and the Wordrobe” It is so rich with pictures from the gospel. I love that upon his return to Narnia his presence begins to bring Narnia back to it’s former splendor. “Shaft’s of delicious sunlight struck down onto the forest floor and overhead you could see blue sky between the treetops” “The trees began to come fully alive.” And upon his resurrection he goes unto those who had stood frozen in time by the white which, to free them from her spell. I can’t help but to liken it to the work that Christ began and that through his resurrection he continues to do. He is making all things new through the inspiration of his holy spirit- following the resurrection- at Pentacost he sent his spirit out amongst the people to awake them from a life that leads to death to a new resurrection life. One where their souls were born unto Christ and their hearts set toward heaven. I also love that in the book when Aslan is raised from the dead he is made of flesh and blood- a tangable being that the girls ride upon to tell their brothers of all that has taken place. As with Christ he walked in human form and as it states in 1 Corinthians 15 ” For as by a man came death, by a man came also the resurrection of the dead. For in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive… For he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet” Rejoice that he is reigning in the flesh working to put all enemies under his feet and bringing restoration to the world through the spreading of his holy word. We worship a Living God! Thanks Lori for the encouragement to go deeper and get to know Christ more throughout this Lenten season.

  3. Your comments are such an encouragement to me. Thanks for taking the time to share your insights! I learn from your comments.

  4. Mary Moss says:

    Thomas saw in Jesus a deeper magic that made death with Him seem more appealing than life without Him.

    Isn’t this the truth for each of us? No matter what life sends our way, we long for the life-giving water. This is an absolutely stunning post. Thank you for prompting me to go deeper still in this upcoming Holy Week.

  5. I love reading about each of the disciples and their unique responses to Jesus. Jesus called and embraced them all to Himself. That’s encouraging.

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  7. scottib says:

    Janine…. take a breath…..relax…..