Floating Islands and the Fixed Land (Book: Perelandra)

C.S. Lewis has an incredible gift of profoundly impacting his readers through fictional stories. Through reading the first two books in his space triology, I can honestly say that God has shifted some of my perspectives and deepened my comprehension of a few spiritual lessons. Here is an example of a profound lesson learned from the second book, Perelandra. The book is set on Perelandra, a planet teeming with majestic landscapes and wildlife.

On the planet of Perelandra, the islands float on waves like gigantic lily pads in an enormous wave pool. The two inhabitants of this land, the Lady and the King, simply live day by day on whichever island the waves bring their way. In many aspects, the King and the Lady resemble Adam and Eve before the fall. With purity and simplicity, they live by faith in Maledil – the God figure in these books. Even in a world that is literally shifting under their feet, they have no concern about where they will sleep or what they will eat because Maledil provides for them without fail.

There was only one place on Perelandra that did not shift with the waves. This Fixed Land was the one forbidden dwelling place for the King and the Lady. The bulk of this story is about the epic struggle to keep the Evil One from convincing the Lady to defy Maledil and sleep on the forbidden Fixed Land. When all is said and done, the Evil One is defeated and the Lady is protected from defying the command of Maledil. As she reflects on her new-found maturity and understanding she says:

“The reason for not yet living on the Fixed Land is now so plain. How could I wish to live there except because it was Fixed? And why should I desire the Fixed except to make sure — to be able on one day to command where I should be the next and what should happen to me? It was to reject the wave – to draw my hands out of Maledil’s…to put in our own power what times should roll towards us…as if you gathered fruits together to-day for to-morrow’s eating instead of taking what came. That would have been cold love and feeble trust. And out of it how could we ever have climbed back into love and trust again?”

Her last statement hits so close to home.  In a society where we seek to control our own futures, we are definitely in danger of cold love and feeble trust towards our God. Times are definitely less stable during the recession, but even so, we still have the power to plan for tomorrow in many ways. So, how do we practice genuine love for God and total trust in Him? How do we really let go of control and embrace the waves rolling in as He wills? I don’t have the answers, but I do believe that asking Him to deepen our trust must coincide with willingness to have comfort and control stripped from your hands. I believe that this is an important and bold prayer that leads to deep Christian sanctification.