There was once a great and noble King whose land was terrorized by a crafty dragon. Like a massive bird of prey, the scaly beast delighted in ravaging villages with his fiery breath. Hapless victims ran from their burning homes, only to be snatched into the dragon's jaws or talons. Those devoured instantly were deemed more fortunate than those carried back to the dragon's lair to be devoured at his leisure.
The King led his sons and knights in many valiant battles against the dragon.
The King led his sons and knights in many valiant battles against the dragon.
Riding alone in the forest, one of the King's sons heard his name purred low and soft. In the shadows of the ferns and trees, curled among the boulders, lay the dragon. The creature's heavy-lidded eyes fastened on the prince, and the reptilian mouth stretched into a friendly smile.
"Don't be alarmed," said the dragon, as gray wisps of smoke rose lazily from his nostrils. "I am not what your father thinks."
"What are you, then?" asked the prince, warily drawing his sword as he pulled in the reins to keep his fearful horse from bolting.
"I am pleasure," said the dragon. "Ride on my back and you will experience more than you ever imagined. Come now. I have no harmful intentions. I seek a friend, someone to share flights with me. Have you never dreamed of flying? Ever longed to soar in the clouds?"
Visions of soaring high above the forested hills drew the prince hesitantly from his horse. The dragon unfurled one great webbed wing to serve as a ramp to his ridged back. Between the spiny projections, the prince found a secure seat. Then the creature snapped his powerful wings twice and launched them into the sky.
The prince's apprehension melted into awe and exhilaration.
From then on, he met the dragon often, but secretly, for how could he tell his father, brothers or the knights that he had befriended the enemy? The prince felt separate from them all.
Their concerns were no longer his concerns. Even when he wasn't with the dragon, he spent less time with those he loved and more time alone.
The skin on the prince's legs became calloused from gripping the ridged back of the dragon, and his hands grew rough and hardened. He began wearing gloves to hide the malady. After many nights of riding, he discovered scales growing on the backs of his hands as well. With dread he realized his fate were he to continue, and so he resolved to return no more to the dragon.
But, after a fortnight, he again sought out the dragon, having been tormented with desire. And so it transpired many times over. No matter what his determination, the prince eventually found himself pulled back, as if by the cords of an invisible web.
Silently, patiently, the dragon always waited.
One cold, moonless night their excursion became a foray against a sleeping village. Torching the thatched roofs with fiery blasts from his nostrils, the dragon roared with delight when the terrified victims fled from their burning homes. Swooping in, the serpent belched again and flames engulfed a cluster of screaming villages. The prince closed his eyes tightly in an attempt to shut out the carnage.
In the pre-dawn hours, when the prince crept back from his dragon trysts, the road outside his father's castle usually remained empty. But not tonight. Terrified refugees streamed into the protective walls of the castle. The prince attempted to slip through the crowd to close himself in his chambers, but some of the survivors stared and pointed toward him.
"He was there," one woman cried out, "I saw him on the back of the dragon." Others nodded their heads in angry agreement. Horrified, the prince saw that his father, the King, was in the courtyard holding a bleeding child in his arms.
The King's face mirrored the agony of his people as his eyes found the prince's. The son fled, hoping to escape into the night, but the guards apprehended him as if he were a common thief. They brought him to the great hall where his father sat solemnly on the throne. The people on every side railed against the prince.
"Banish him!" he heard one of his own brothers angrily cry out.
"Burn him alive!" other voices shouted.
As the king rose from his throne, bloodstains from the wounded shone darkly on his royal robes. The crowd fell silent in expectation of his decree. The prince, who could not bear to look into his father's face, stared at the flagstones of the floor.
"Take off your gloves and your tunic," the King commanded. The prince obeyed slowly, dreading to have his metamorphosis uncovered before the kingdom. Was his shame not already enough? He had hoped for a quick death without further humiliation. Sounds of revulsion rippled through the crowd at the sight of the prince's thick, scaled skin and the ridge growing along his spine.
The king strode toward his son, and the prince steeled himself, fully expecting a back handed blow even though he had never been struck so by his father.
Instead, his father embraced him and wept as he held him tightly. In shocked disbelief, the prince buried his face against his father's shoulder.
"Do you wish to be freed from the dragon, my son?"
The prince answered in despair, "I wished it many times, but there is no hope for me." "Not alone," said the King. "You cannot win against the dragon alone."
"Father, I am no longer your son. I am half beast," sobbed the prince.
But his father replied, "My blood runs in your veins. My nobility has always been stamped deep within your soul."
With his face still hidden tearfully in his father's embrace, the prince heard the King instruct the crowd, "The dragon is crafty. Some fall victim to his wiles and some to his violence. There will be mercy for all who wish to be freed. Who else among you has ridden the dragon?"
The prince lifted his head to see someone emerge from the crowd. To his amazement, he recognized an older brother, one who had been lauded throughout the kingdom for his onslaughts against the dragon in battle and for his many good deeds. Others came, some weeping, others hanging their heads in shame.
The King embraced them all.
"This is our most powerful weapon against the dragon," he announced. "TRUTH. No more hidden flights. Alone we cannot resist him!"
"Do you wish to be freed from the dragon, my son?"
The prince answered in despair, "I wished it many times, but there is no hope for me." "Not alone," said the King. "You cannot win against the dragon alone."
"Father, I am no longer your son. I am half beast," sobbed the prince.
But his father replied, "My blood runs in your veins. My nobility has always been stamped deep within your soul."
With his face still hidden tearfully in his father's embrace, the prince heard the King instruct the crowd, "The dragon is crafty. Some fall victim to his wiles and some to his violence. There will be mercy for all who wish to be freed. Who else among you has ridden the dragon?"
The prince lifted his head to see someone emerge from the crowd. To his amazement, he recognized an older brother, one who had been lauded throughout the kingdom for his onslaughts against the dragon in battle and for his many good deeds. Others came, some weeping, others hanging their heads in shame.
The King embraced them all.
"This is our most powerful weapon against the dragon," he announced. "TRUTH. No more hidden flights. Alone we cannot resist him!"
A story by Melinda Reinicke
Source: Door of Hope, Setting Captives Free
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Question: What are your thoughts on this story of the king, the prince, and the dragon? Do you see parallels with your own life? =)
The Lord bless your reading and may you be convicted by the Holy Spirit to turn away from the dragon (devil).
Speak the truth, let all wrongdoings be out into the lights.
Be Accountable, Be Truthful, Be Humble, Be Teachable
Be willing to let go and let God!
Hallelujah, then we will realise how liberating that could be ar!!
Brothers and Sisters, let there be NO MORE HIDDEN FLIGHTS oh.. =)
I am learning to grasp this truth, may the Lord show you the same revelation today too. =)
TO GOD BE ALL GLORY AND PRAISE
2 comments:
Daniel, wow, I read this story so many years ago and it still has a strong impact. I reminds me of two of CS Lewis' books:
The first is Voyage of the Dawn Treader
In one scene, the selfish boy, Eustace enconters and becomes a dragon. (here is a summary of the incident)
"Eustace wanders off to avoid helping refit the ship and takes refuge during a storm in a dragon’s cave, where he finds a vast treasure of gold and jewels and lies down to sleep on a pile of coins.
When he awakes, he finds that through his greediness and selfishness, he has himself become a dragon, the outer form manifesting his inner self. He eventually tries to shed his skin, along with his dragonish nature, by bathing himself in the pool, but to no avail, a clear picture of the self-effort of man to cleanse himself of sin through works of some sort (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16; Philippians 3:8,9).
When he is finally confronted by Aslan, the great lion of Narnia who is the picture of Christ in the series, it is Aslan himself who must remove the rough, scaly dragon skin with his claws. “The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart,” Eustace explains.
Aslan then dresses him in new clothes, the whole process being symbolic of the Christian becoming a new creation in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:8-10). From that point forward Eustace begins to be a better boy. He still has lapses, but his transformation has begun"
The other book is The Great Divorce in which a man is dilievered from a red lizard who holds the man in constant bondage. The lizard is transformed into a beautiful horse upon which the man rides into heaven.
What is interesting is that the negative concept of the dragon (and serpent) is a "Western" view of things. In many cultures dragons and snakes are powerful symbols of luck and strength. But the English had always portrayed the dragon as evil, something to be destroyed.
But I have not answered your question: What do I think about the story and do I see any parallels?
It is a lovely allegory about Christian redemption--how God welcomes us in as prodigals and gives us a fresh start. Like many conversion stories though it leaves me with questions. What happens after one is saved?
How does one live with genuine needs and longings in a world where there is pain and loss and contradictions? How does one honestly and deeply reach the places of longing within us that have often led us to addictive pleasures? What is it that we truly long for and how can we have these needs legimately met?
Finally, after having ridden the dragon, how do we avoid the possibility of jumping on another dragon that provides a different sort of pleasure but does not touch us in our deepest core?
So, Brother Daniel, you have raised many questions for me. Thanks for the thoughtprovoking post.
Peterson
Wow.. Thanks Brother Peterson!!
Hee.. You've been so encouraging and supportive of this blog.. It's by God's grace that He has shown me this wonderful story when I was doing my Door of Hope course via Setting Captives Free =)
Thanks for the reviews and synopsis of the two books by C.S. Lewis. =)
Praise God that you have a ministering moment with Him. =)
Agape,
Daniel.
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