God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT
When Eustace has his alarming and painful realization of what he has become, he tries to remove the dragon skin on his own. He scratches, peels, digs, and even succeeds in peeling a few layers away. All it does is reveal another layer. The dragon nature runs so deep.
Like Eustace, we cannot save ourselves. We can try to change, and our efforts can succeed for a while. We can become nicer, more disciplined, more respectable, more religious. But the most valiant human effort cannot change the heart. That’s the truth of Ephesians 2:8-9. You can’t take credit for it. It is a gift from God.
Aslan, the beautiful lion representative of Christ in the story, must do what Eustace cannot do. He does not deserve undragoning, he cannot accomplish undragoning, and (a natural braggart), he can’t boast about undragoning. It must be done for him. He must be willing and surrender to Aslan, but transformation only comes through undeserved grace.
In our situations, we must trust ourselves to God the way Eustace did to Alsan. God acts toward us with healing love we did not earn and cannot manufacture. We must be vulnerable and trust and obey.
Grace is free, but it runs deep. Undragoning was freeing but painful for Eustace. Aslan’s claws hurt because they were taking care of the real problem. He was restoring what Eustace’s sin had destroyed. The changes that come from becoming our true selves are not easy. Our dragon nature runs deep, but God’s grace goes deeper. After the undragoning, Eustace did not announce proudly, “I did it!” he was profoundly aware that he had needed a rescue, and Aslan did for him what he could never do for himself. This is one of the stand-out differences of an undragoned community.
People transformed by grace become more humble, not more self-congratulatory. There is a distinctive lack of comparison and envy. They can work as a true community, not vying for control. They are profoundly grateful for God’s undeserved grace and are ready to extend it to others. Undragoned communities are safe places for others to find healing because they are deeply aware – “I am not standing here by my own goodness.” People who know mercy and grace deeply give it freely.
- Oh, God! May I allow Your grace to go deep and remove all the layers in me that are unlike You. May I gratefully give mercy and grace to others who “don’t deserve it,” because that describes me too.