The Little Red Lizard

C.S. Lewis published The Great Divorce in 1945 as a response to William Blake’s poem,
​The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. The book is not about marital divorce. Rather, it gives an account of the afterlife for those who still cling to earthly fears and proud beliefs, mistaking them for True Love. In this story, any soul can enter Heaven when they relinquish fear, pride, vengeance, grief, and other impediments to Life in the Spirit.

At one point, a soul approaches Heaven, arguing with a little red dragon attached to his shoulder, whispering in his ear. The soul slows down, smiles slightly, and turns back toward his existence in Hell. Just then, he is confronted by an angel, who asks if he can kill the dragon, which is revealed as lustful fantasy and desire. The back and forth between the angel and the soul is darkly humorous and sad. Any sexual addict will recognize the rationalizations, the anger, the mistrust, and finally, the despair and fear. The soul yields and the angel rips the dragon off the soul and throttles it, throwing it to the ground.

This act causes intense pain in the soul, followed by relief and thanksgiving, as the soul embraces the angel, shedding tears of joy. A transformation rapidly occurs as the soul evolves from a dark, oily shadow into a golden, magnificent human figure. Even more surprising, far from dying, the lizard begins to writhe and changes into a glorious horse with a shining mane and tail. The surrounding land trembles with joy as the man bounds onto the horse’s back and powerfully rides into the mountains and stars in the East.

What a marvelous parable for recovery! Only with help can we admit our isolation and confront our denial. Only in the grace of a Higher Power can we accept ourselves as we are and have the courage to face the fears and grievances that bind us, to let them go. Only by surrender, no longer denying reality and foolishly fighting what we have no power over, do we find true power to escape. Only in this moment, always, do we make the decision to seek God’s will for our own good and that of the world.

I find the most amazing and insightful part of the story is the transformation of the little red dragon. What we would naturally perceive as an enemy and an evil to be utterly destroyed becomes the means by which the soul enters Heaven! Recovery can incorporate all parts of ourselves in the light of grace. The flaws of the soul are transformed into true strength and vitality, as evidenced by the humility and gratitude of the transformed soul.
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This story invites you to ask if this transformation is possible for us in the light of grace? Richard Rohr has written, “God has trapped us all inside of certain grace and created all things human with a constant need for mercy.” Our acceptance of the love God has for each of us and the trusting surrender that follows can bring all of us into the fullness of life.