“I don’t understand”

One almost unknown character from the Chronicles of Narnia is a bear in The Last Battle. He is constantly saying throughout the book, “I don’t understand.” Anytime plans are made, he doesn’t understand them. But he knows when Prince Tirian comes to fight against the Calormene, that this is a cause worth fighting for. He may not understand fully, but he has faith. Faith that, if he is on Aslan’s side, he is where he is meant to be.

There are so many small things in the Narnia books that one almost doesn’t even notice, but they are things that really show the nature of God. And this is one that just struck me. It’s kind of funny, because it has probably been a year or two since I read The Last Battle, but it suddenly came to my mind as I was watching the movie of Prince Caspian.

The bear reminds me so much of the childlike faith that we are supposed to have. We can’t try to fully understand what God’s plans are. But we need to trust, and know who we are following. I know that sometimes I try to over-analyze things. I want to know what is happening, and why it is happening. And I need to stop that, and just be trusting. Stand for what I need to stand for, no matter if I understand or not.

And one of the best things about this bear is what happens at the end of the book. All of the characters have died in Narnia’s last battle (hence the name…), and they are in Aslan’s country, which is basically heaven. It says as the bear dies in battle, that he muttered one last time, “I don’t understand” and then he closed his eyes like a child falling asleep (kind of a paraphrase…). That part always makes me cry. But then, when they enter Aslan’s country, you see the bear again, and he has woken, and sees the fruit trees, something that he does understand. And we, when we are in Heaven, we will understand the things that we see there. It will not be just fruit trees, but it will be the wonder of God. And we will finally be at a point where we understand. Because God is like that. He is not one that wants his children to be confused. He wants us to understand. He has called us to him so that one day, we will understand. We will see him, and all will be made clear. What a lesson from a bear that was always confused.