In the story, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” by C.S. Lewis, a character named Edmund turns into a dragon by virtue of his greed. He soon finds it a terrible and lonely transformation and wishes desperately to be changed back into an innocent little boy. The lion Aslan meets him near a spring and tells him to take off his skin. Realizing that he can scratch away his skin like a molting snake, Edmund begins to claw away at himself until he has removed several layers of his skin. He finds, however, that he cannot remove the last layer that stands between him and his former self. Aslan looks at him softly and explains that he must remove the last layer as he holds out a long, sharp claw. Lewis described it as a good kind of pain and after washing in a nearby pool, Edmund is returned to his boyhood self.

The pastor at Christ Church spoke on the same topic on Sunday when he described what it was like for a silversmith to refine silver in the fire. The best silversmith will hold the silver in the fire until he can see his own reflection, Fr. Andy explained.

I’ve always wondered if we have to concentrate on making ourselves right before we can feel closer to God or if we should come to him broken and let him fix us. There’s something to be said for both. What I do know is that God has to be the one to refine us, to discipline us, and to bring our sins to the light so that we can be transformed into our true and righteous selves. It’s a good kind of pain that the culture around us tells us to avoid. Until we admit our weaknesses and allow them to come out into the open, we cannot be transformed by God.