In Pursuit of Myth

I've been trying to do more reading the last two years and I think I discovered something important. I have always been drawn to fantasy but I don't think it's fantasy that I really want. Rather, I think what really draws my attention is Myth, eternal truths about humanity, creation, and God communicated through story.

Recently I got through C.S. Lewis's 'Space Trilogy' and found the journey most excellent indeed. Even if his version of space travel feels more like fantasy than science fiction and the chief evil of That Hideous Strength doesn't translate as well into the current day I found the stories delightful to read and very thought provoking. It is C.S. Lewis after all, his writings are rife with gems to be uncovered if you take to time to dig even just a little. C.S. Lewis writes fantasy and science fiction, true, but all his stories are infused with mythic truth. The Gospel, for instance, can clearly be seen in The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe and the number of analogies to it in Voyage to Venus made me breathless at points! Lewis goes beyond just The Gospel though, he goes into the human condition, the nature of spiritual beings, the nature of creation, and commentary on his current time.

What really brought out the mythic qualities to me was contrasting C.S. Lewis' writings with popular contemporary fantasy author Brandon Sanderson. Before I dove into Lewis I read Sanderson's Mistborn, a well written fantasy story with interesting characters, a compelling story, and an intriguing setting complete with an engaging cosmology, and the story unfolds like a good adventure novel should. The writing was professional, he employed a honed structure, the materials was original but he, like all good authors, borrowed ideas from the classics. I enjoyed the story, and it made me ask 'what if' at many points, but it was clearly a different type of story than what Lewis was telling. Popular fantasy writes good stories to entertain, or try to get some point across. Myth is also entertaining but it is infused with truth. Popular fantasy conjures up a fabricated light to illuminate the story, mythic stories reflect or allow true light to shine through into our minds and illuminate our inner most parts. C.S. Lewis was a serious and professional scholar, a world class medievalist and master of story who literally taught literature for a living. Today's popular authors by contract may have heard of him or even sat in on one of his classes, but the there is an incomparable gap between them.

As one of my former professors, Dr. Eric Ortlund, noted, everyone needs mythic stories, stories that give us context for how to live and what the world is about, so much so that if we are not given myths we create our own and this, I think, is the cause of much harm. The ancient philosophers taught through stories, Jesus taught the people through stories almost exclusively, and much of the Bible is communicated through stories. Something about story is both deep and wide, deep in the sense that it reaches into our inner most parts and wide in the sense of it being a universal language that everyone can understand.

I think I want to become a good story teller. Not just good at telling stories, but to really understand what makes a good story, how it should be told, and to become acquainted with the best stories out there. When I was doing my thesis under Dr. David Gurtezki he said that our natural interests should give us a clue about what we will do in life (or in the case of that conversation, one's thesis). Well, I've always been a sucker for good storytelling when it comes to video games. I enjoy fantasy and science fiction, the two most popular modes that myth is told in. I have an inextinguishable interest in role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons where it is, essentially, group story telling.

From political parties spending outrageous sums to control 'the narrative', to the incredible success of the 'Critical Role' crowd funding campaign it seems to me that there is need to understand story telling. It seems to me that we are beset by myths that would seek to control us. Individualism, modern day crusades, modernity and post-modernity, left and right, and a dozen different perspectives on history. But here I am getting way ahead of myself.

First I will read some more good books. Maybe one day I can engage with some stories of my own.

Continually Receiving the Kingdom

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

~ Mark 10:13-16 ~

We understand the basic historical truth of this story. During Jesus ministry some 2000 years ago mothers were bringing their children to Jesus so that he might touch them and bless them. His disciples thought Jesus was too busy and too important to be bothered by children, children being a nuisance and occupying a low social station in the Romanized Ancient Near East and everyone had come from all over to hear Jesus teach. Jesus did care about the children though and used it as a teaching opportunity for everyone who had gathered that they needed to accept his teachings about The Kingdom just as these eager little ankle biters did, running to Jesus, crawling on him, reaching up and saying "pick me up! pick me up!", probably also pulling on his beard and telling stories about pet rocks or imaginary critters.

At first glance its a sentimental story. Jesus loves the little children and takes time for them in an era when a man of his social status and fame would have been off limits. This shows us God's heart. This shows us Jesus' character. This elevates the importance of children and human life. It is edifying, refreshing, comforting, this is our God, he takes time and has patience with little children, little children who are physically young and little children who may be physically older but are spiritually young. Jesus takes time for the least of these, Jesus will take time for you, and He will be happy to do so.

The teaching comes with a warning though. Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. What does this mean? I have some ideas but I suspect the answer may be dependent on the unique position of the reader and the work that God has in mind. The answers may vary and be nuanced by person. Pray that the Lord would reveal this to you and spend some time reading and contemplating the passage, praying and reflecting.

To accept the Kingdom of God as a child, I believe, involves taking God at His word as a young child takes the word of his father, with trust. Little children trust the word of their parents. They may not always obey but they believe it is true unless they have reason not to. Little children ask honest questions. Little children seek to please their parents, at least until they need a nap or the parent says they are not allowed to have more candy. Little children are open, tender, moldable, completely dependent upon their parents. As the Holy  Bible says:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
    fools despise wisdom and instruction.

~ Proverbs 1:7 ~

... present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

~ Romans 12:1-2 ~ 

The specifics of how each of this lives this out is part of the journey of faith, part of the nuance that varies from person to person according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

It occurred to me, as I was praying over this passage that there is another truth within. I think most of us take this passage to be speaking about conversion, how Jesus is telling us that if we are to become Christians we must have the faith of a child or we will not be saved. It seems to me though that the Kingdom of God is continually presented to us both before conversion and after conversion. As time marches onward and God's plans are continually in motion and continually unfolding we are continually presented with the opportunity to participate in The Kingdom. There are seasons, when God works powerfully and self evidently, when miracles and healing and revival sweep through an area, God's holy fire fills his people with light and life and energy and purpose, and The Kingdom is presented with power and glory! There are seasons when God will, by The Holy Spirit, specifically direct his people to accomplish His plans within the world by hidden means. God may be specifically positioning people within human society to do work for The Kingdom, directing us to go here, not there, to do this, not that, to talk to this person, to make that phone call, to apply for this job, not that job, etc. Even if it is not a season for direct instruction we are continually presented with the Kingdom of God by the simple virtue of our frail humanity, we rely upon God, He provides for us day by day, and we are invited every day anew to acknowledge and live according to his steadfast providence. We are also presented and re-presented with the teachings of Christ and the Word of God as we read the Holy Bible, pray, and when the Holy Spirit speaks through sermons and prophecies, even when we think we have learned a lesson we are forgetful creatures and even if we are not forgetful we do not have God's perspective, we do not know all things in all times or the motivations of our own hearts or the hearts of others, and so The Word of God, the Kingdom of God, is continually presented to us and we are invited to learn from it anew every day.

The Kingdom of God is multifaceted, all encompassing, and everlasting, but our perspective, our sight, is easily distracted, often impaired, never perfect. May all of us continually receive the Kingdom like little children as Christ continually presents it to us through His Holy Word, in prayer, through the body of believers, in our hearts, and every other method it is presented until the time that all things are reconciled to Christ and then ever onward, amen.