Torch, Winter 2012

I n C.S. Lewis’ classic book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe , a young girl named Lucy discovers a hidden passage at the back of a wardrobe leading to a strange fantasy world. It’s cold; everything is covered in snow and ice. A 100-year curse from the White Witch has made Narnia “always winter, never Christmas.” Narnia’s residents are frozen in depression with no joy, no warmth, and no future. Only when Aslan comes does the thaw begin. When we are confronted with death, grief, and the darkness of this world, isn’t it wonderful to know that the people of God have hope? We look for “the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). The apostle Paul references this hope in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope.” In spite of the fact that death separates us from the ones we love, our grief is different. In the midst of our tears, there is hope. In the same passage, Paul carefully reinforces that our hope is not without foundation; rather, it is based on a Winter 2012 | TORCH 25