Some of my best experiences with children’s books have been reading them as an adult. Not too long ago, I was reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, and I was completely struck by the character of Reepicheep. But I couldn’t figure out why. Perhaps the fact that Reepicheep is a sword-wielding, talking mouse had something to do with it. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it than that. I was really amazed by this little mouse. Admittedly, Reepicheep is a very good storybook character. He’s virtuous, he’s always up for a fight to protect his or someone else’s honor and he’s got a handful of funny one-liners, but other than that, there’s nothing really extraordinary about him, and I still couldn’t put my finger on why I liked him so much.

Then it hit me: The reason I like Reepicheep so much is that he embodies so well the proper response to the call of the Christian life.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the third book in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series. Edmund and Lucy and their cousin Eustace find themselves in Narnia and embark on a journey with Caspian, the King of Narnia, his loyal friend Reepicheep and their crew on Caspian’s ship, the Dawn Treader. Their voyage is full of excitement and adventure until we find out that in order to save the three lost Lords, they must sail to the edge of the world and leave one of their company behind.

Upon hearing this news, and without missing a beat, Reepicheep responds, “That is my heart’s desire.” I believe this is Reepicheep’s vocational call. It is personal and specific, and he knows in his heart that he is meant to leave the world behind and move on into the utter east, toward Aslan’s country. I think if we search our own hearts, we will (hopefully) find a similar desire. A desire to leave the things of this world behind on our journey to Heaven. Like Reepicheep, we are called to be bold as we become who we were created to be, responding to our vocational call.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Narnian crew is not as sure about Reepicheep’s decision. When the others have doubts and remind Reepicheep that he has no idea what will happen to him, and that he doesn’t even know what the utter east is like, Reepicheep responds, “[W]hatever it is, won’t it be worth anything just to have looked for one moment beyond the edge of the world?” He doesn’t completely understand what he’s in for, but he doesn’t let this stop him, and here, Reepicheep provides us with the perfect example of trust. He doesn’t know precisely what his future holds.

Not every little detail is given to him at this time. But he throws himself completely into the mystery. Oftentimes, we won’t know exactly what trials, joys, challenges and gifts the road ahead holds for us, but we are called to trust God along the way.

I also don’t believe that Reepicheep is speaking euphemistically when he says it is worth “anything” to get to Aslan’s country. It is indeed worth everything. In the same way, we must give up everything to follow Christ. We give our whole selves over to Him in the hope of reaching heaven.

As the crew gets closer to the edge of the world, Reepicheep explains to Edmund and Lucy, “While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan’s country … I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise.” Reepicheep’s bold claim embodies the call of the Christian life. We must die to self, little by little every day, for the sake of growing closer to God, just as Reepicheep is willing to quite literally die for the sake of reaching Aslan’s country. And as we do this, we may act with our noses to the rise of the Son, in the hope of the Resurrection.

Especially as college students, many of us may not know exactly what our future holds for us, but as we begin to hear and respond to our vocational calls, I pray that we could all learn a lesson from Reepicheep.

 

Michael Infantine is a sophomore PLS major who is always looking for more people to talk about C.S. Lewis books with. Contact him minfanti@nd.edu.