“Child,” said Aslan, in a gentler voice than he had yet used, “perhaps you do not see quite as well as you think. But the first step is to remember. Repeat to me, in order, the four signs.”
Having trouble tying your shoes? Or making an important decision? Or taking a test? Or facing a difficult season in life?
The first step, always, is to remember, recite, and repeat.
THE NARNIAN WAY
In The Silver Chair, when Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole stumble into Narnia, the kingly Aslan commissions Jill to rescue the lost prince. He gives her four signs to guide her:
- Greet an old friend;
- Journey north until you reach the ruined city of giants;
- Follow the instructions written on a stone in the ruined city;
- Recognize the lost prince, who will ask for something in Aslan’s name.
Though Jill seems to understand these signs, Aslan immediately tells her to repeat them. “Jill tried, and didn't get them quite right. So the Lion corrected her and made her repeat them again and again till she could say them perfectly.”
Repeating. Again and again and again…
Jill, Eustace, and their friend Puddleglum “muff” the first three signs and suffer for it. Finally, when they’re trapped in an underground city, a mysteriously loony knight tied to a silver chair asks them to free him “by the great Lion, by Aslan himself.” Thankfully, the three travellers recognize the fourth sign and realize they must free the knight, who is revealed to be the lost Prince Rilian. A conniving witch, plotting to invade Narnia, had captured the lost prince long ago. As the witch confronts the travellers and prince, she casts charming spells, attempting to make them forget their mission, forget their identities, forget their worlds, their homes, and the sun itself.
The first step is to remember.
When Puddleglum reminds the group of their mission, they all stand against the witch as she transforms into a green-scaled serpent - a dragon! Equipped with the memory of his noble lineage, Rilian beheads the snake and reclaims his royal identity.
THE JEWISH WAY
From the dawn of time, God had said that a dragon-slayer will rise from the lineage of Eve (Genesis 3:14-15). From the beginning, God has guided men with signs. I wonder… Do we forget his guidance?
The Jews, certainly, were prone to wander and leave the God they loved. Thus, they needed reminders.
In Samuel 7, after suffering defeats at the hands of the Philistines, the Israelites hear God thunder against the Philistines and confuse them. The Lord conquers the Philistines for the Israelites, and the prophet Samuel responds by setting up a stone, calling it “Ebenezer,” and explaining, “The Lord has helped us to this point” (1 Samuel 7:12). An “Ebenezer” stone is a physical reminder to the Jewish people that God helped them. Why do they need the reminder? Because everyone tends to forget God’s goodness.
In Deuteronomy, God explains the purpose of His law through Moses’s sermons. Among other things, he commands them to love needy travellers because they were needy travellers coming out of Egypt and to love God because he first loved them. He admonishes the Jews,
You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (Deuteronomy 11:18-19).
These words of God are signs. If you want God’s guidance, you need to get these signs into your heart and soul. In order to do that, you need to get them on your hand, in front of your eyes, and around your house. These signs, these reminders, must be everywhere.
Remember; recite; repeat.
This is the way the Lord God wants you to practice love: to constantly remind yourself of God’s words in order to get it into your heart and soul.
THE CHRISTIAN WAY
In this regard, Christians are no exception. Repetitive practice is a formative way to habituate the soul to Christlike character.
After all, the vast majority of Paul’s epistles are simply repeated reminders to churches. He ceaselessly has to remind Christians what the gospel is! Indeed, Paul even tells the Philippians that “To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you” (Philippians 3:1). Paul sees repetition as a safeguard for Christians.
The church at Galatia seems to have a problem relying on their own righteousness and good works. After his typical greetings, Paul rails against the Galatians because they are “so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6). We might find it silly that Christians would forget such a thing as the gospel, but we forget it all the time. Anytime we sin, we forget the goodness of God. Anytime we idolize something, we forget the sovereignty of God. Anytime we rely on ourselves, we forget the gospel.
Pastors like Jerry Bridges and Milton Vincent argue that the wise Christian remembers, recites, and repeats the gospel to himself everyday.
THE CATECHISM WAY
It’s an oldie but a goodie in classical education: repetition is the mother of mastery. And do we not seek to become masters of the gospel? Indeed, God has entrusted us with the ministry of the gospel (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
This is why we do catechism. Good catechisms have richer, nobler, worthier things students remember, recite, and repeat – things that will guide their souls. I expect students in my ancient history class to remember the answer to the question, “Throughout history, what could save us from lives like cattle? What hope can we have?” I pray my rhetoric students remember the answer to “How ought Christians to use their powers of speech?” I desperately want the ancient literature students to recall the answer to “What is our only comfort in life and death?”
Yes, it is repetitive. Yes, it takes a portion of time from every class. Yes, it can feel mundane and boring.
But I assure you, as a teacher, it is no trouble for me and is safe for you. For the first step to slay a dragon, always, is to remember, recite, and repeat.
