The Dragon Skin He Couldn't Shed

In C.S. Lewis's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a boy named Eustace Scrubb becomes a dragon. His greed and selfishness have literally transformed him into the creature his heart already resembled. Desperate to become human again, Eustace tries to scratch off the dragon skin himself. He peels away one layer, then another, then another — but beneath each layer lies more scales.

Then Aslan appears. "You will have to let me undress you," the lion says. And with his claws, Aslan tears deeper than Eustace ever dared — down past every layer of scale and selfishness, until the boy stands raw and new. It hurts terribly. But when Aslan throws him into the water, Eustace emerges with smooth, human skin. He is himself again — or rather, himself for the first time.

We spend years trying to peel away the identities that don't fit — the labels others gave us, the shame we've worn so long it feels like skin. We scratch at the surface. We try harder. We resolve to change. But the transformation we need goes deeper than self-improvement can reach.

Only the hands of the Living God can strip away what we were never meant to carry. And yes, it hurts. But on the other side of that holy undressing, we find who we were created to be — children of the Most High, made new from the inside out.