“He’s Not Safe… But He’s Good”
A Devotional Reflection Inspired by C.S. Lewis and Scripture
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe?
‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
—C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
There’s something deeply unsettling—and profoundly comforting—about that line from The Chronicles of Narnia. When the children of Narnia first hear of Aslan, they expect comfort, not danger; familiarity, not awe. But the Beavers shatter their assumptions. Aslan, Lewis’s Christ-figure, is not “safe.” He is not domesticated or predictable. He is not manageable. But he is good.
The God We Cannot Tame
Lewis’s image of Aslan echoes the Bible’s portrayal of God’s holiness. From Sinai’s thunder to Isaiah’s trembling vision in the temple, Scripture insists that God is not safe.
When Isaiah saw the Lord “seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1), the prophet’s first response was not calm reverence but terror and self-awareness:
“Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5)
The burning seraphim cover their faces before His radiance, crying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.” Holiness, in this scene, is not a tranquil attribute—it’s a blazing, consuming reality that exposes all impurity and brings every creature to its knees.
Like Isaiah, we often come into God’s presence seeking reassurance, but what we encounter first is revelation—a vision of His majesty that undoes us. His holiness burns away illusion. His glory reveals our need. The God of the Bible cannot be approached casually; He must be approached cleansed and called.
And yet, in that same moment of fear, grace breaks in. A seraph takes a coal from the altar and touches Isaiah’s lips, declaring, “Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:7) The Holy One is also the merciful One. The fire that could destroy becomes the flame that purifies.
Goodness Beyond Comfort
That’s what Lewis meant when he said Aslan isn’t safe but good. God’s goodness is not the softness of indulgence; it is the steadfastness of truth. It is His unwillingness to leave us as we are. “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29)—not because He delights in destruction, but because His love is too fierce to tolerate sin’s corrosion.
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, when Aslan tears away Eustace’s dragon skin, it’s agony—but it’s healing agony. Likewise, the Lord’s goodness often comes through refining pain, pruning, and transformation. Jesus said, “Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2). His goodness doesn’t coddle; it cleanses.
The love of God is not sentimental; it is sanctifying. His mercy does not pamper—it purifies. He loves us enough to wound our pride so that He can heal our souls. True goodness is never tame.
The Lion of Judah
C.S. Lewis chose the name Aslan with intention. In Turkish, aslan literally means “lion.” It’s a fitting name for the King of Narnia who mirrors the Lion of Judah—the messianic title given to Jesus in Scripture.
Revelation shows us Jesus as both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 5:5–6). Strength and sacrifice meet in Him. He overturns tables, commands the storm, silences demons—and then lays down His life for His enemies. He is not safe, but He is good.
The One Isaiah feared to look upon would later walk among us, full of grace and truth. The same lips that spoke the world into being would speak forgiveness to sinners. The same fire that purified Isaiah would descend at Pentecost to fill God’s people with His Spirit.
When Aslan offers his life on the Stone Table to redeem a traitor, Lewis is echoing the mystery of Calvary. The “deeper magic from before the dawn of time” is nothing less than the deeper grace of God—love that conquers death through self-giving sacrifice. The Lion of Judah and the Lamb who was slain are one and the same: Jesus Christ, the Holy One who reigns in power and stoops in mercy.
Learning to Trust the Untamable Goodness of God
To walk with this Lion is to abandon control. Faith means trusting a God who doesn’t always explain Himself but who never ceases to be good. It is learning to say, like Isaiah, “Here am I—send me” (Isaiah 6:8). The holy encounter leads not to paralysis, but to mission; not to dread, but to devotion.
And we should want a God who is not tameable. A god who could be controlled, manipulated, or contained by human hands would be no savior at all. A “safe” god might offer comfort but never transformation; familiarity but never awe. Only a holy, sovereign, untamable God is big enough to break our chains, forgive our sin, and command our worship. The world is too dark, our hearts too frail, to be rescued by a manageable deity. We need the Lion who roars against evil, who shakes kingdoms, who speaks galaxies into being—and who stoops to wash our feet.
Lewis understood that a God who cannot startle or unsettle us is not the living God. The true God is worthy of fear and trust in the same breath—the kind of fear that bows low and rises free.
Lewis once observed that faith must trust God’s character even when His ways are terrifying: “It would be a poor faith which trusted God when He appeared to be good and doubted Him when He did not.” True faith bows before mystery and rises in obedience.
Reflection Questions
- When was the last time God’s holiness—not just His love—left you in awe?
- What “coals from the altar” has God used to cleanse or transform you?
- How can awe of His holiness and trust in His goodness shape your worship this week?
- Do you find yourself wishing for a “safer” God—or longing for one who is big enough to worship and trust?
Prayer
Holy and gracious God, You are not safe, but You are good. Like Isaiah, I stand undone before Your holiness—aware of my unclean lips, yet grateful for Your cleansing fire. Burn away what is false in me. Teach me to trust Your goodness even when I tremble at Your power. You are the Lion and the Lamb, full of truth and grace. I do not want a tame God—I want You, the living and holy One.
Here I am, Lord—send me.
Amen.