When I was 8 or 9, my mom read these books out loud to me. Not that I couldn't read, but it was one of the things we did together. I loved the stories then, and ever since I've read all seven books on an almost yearly basis (I'm 23 now). All seven have been and still are a significant part of my life in many ways. When I became a follower of Jesus as a teenager, I realized the powerful things these books say about the nature of God, and of humanity. One can engage these stories in a powerful way when one reads them in this light.

It's easy to find out what parallels there are: Aslan is a type of Jesus, the Emperor-Over-the-Sea is a type of God, the White Witch and the Emerald Witch are types of Satan, the Stone Table is a type of the Cross, there's a resurrection, etc. etc. etc. Those are what you hear in shallow sermons now that the stories are popular again with the making of the movies (which I have mixed feelings about). The things you don't hear, though, are the things that can really touch you. In "The Horse and His Boy," for example, Shasta is riding his slow, lazy horse through the mountain pass, and he's talking to Aslan thinking he's a giant about to eat him, and feeling sorry for himself. The whole time, Aslan's keeping him from riding off the cliff that he can't see. When day starts to break, and he can see him, he falls at his feet and experiences a powerful encounter. This has, obviously, stuck with me. I am able to see myself in this story. Examples of this abound in all seven books.

These are the deep connections that can be made, and they're where the power exists in fantasy. A different world can exist, and we can enter it and find ourselves there, and we can find Jesus there.