In Every Movie

Tangled: Kingdom Identity

2011-05-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

Rapunzel is a princess. A lost princess, with not a clue about her true, royal identity. As far as she knows, she's Mother Gothel's daughter. The world beyond is dangerous and forbidden. The kingdom she was born to rule is nowhere to be seen.

You are a royal, a prince or princess child of the King of kings. Stolen by the fall. The true Kingdom, the one in which you should reign, remains invisible to your eyes.

But royalty is the last thing on Rapunzel's mind. And when it practically invades the tower in the form of Flynn Rider's satchel - the one that carries her rightful crown - she hasn't got a clue. She's not sure what to do with the crown. It's foreign to her, as foreign as the man she just stuffed into her wardrobe. She tries wearing it on her arm, but that's definitely not a fit.

Our royalty is foreign to us when we are crowned. We treat it clumsily. There are times when we feel it fits, like the authority granted to us by Jesus Christ (John 14:13) is really ours to own. Even though it's our right, even though it's what we were born for, it doesn't come naturally anymore.

And then she puts it on her head...the music swells...her chameleon friend gawks at the change, then shakes his head. With his disapproval, she takes it off and thinks no more of it.

Our kingdom identity is different. It's different from what we're used to, and it's different from what our friends are used to. And if they don't know what we've been called to, our grasp on our royal calling seems funny to them. They'll tell us that we're pretending, that it's not really us.

Put the crown where it belongs. It's yours. Accept that you are the child of God, and live in your identity. You're a prince. You're a princess. Don't dismiss it just because it doesn't feel right, or because you mess up the first time. Because this is who you were born to be.

Tangled: The Lies of the Enemy

2011-04-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, there was a king and queen with a daughter named Rapunzel. A daughter with power. So much power that she was stolen by the enemy, Mother Gothel.

God the Father calls us His sons and daughters. He gives us unheard of amounts of power. Yet we fell (Genesis 3), our souls stolen by Satan.

Mother Gothel kept the child, Rapunzel, locked up in a tower. Forbade her to leave. Yet Rapunzel's destiny lingered. And in her quest to see the lanterns, her quest for her true identity rose to the surface.

Unable to keep the lanterns from flying, Mother Gothel gave her a new reason never to question her imprisonment. Never to go outside. Never to consider a realm beyond the walls that kept her captive. "It's a scary world out there," Mother Gothel told her. "Something will go wrong, I swear. Ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand, cannibals, and snakes. The plague! Also large bugs, men with pointy teeth..."

Satan would have us believe that our destiny is no bigger than our cozy little lives. And as for our calling, the whisper that stirs our hearts and bids us pursue the great unknown? That is when he bids us be afraid, be very afraid. Think of what could go wrong, think of what may happen. Think of he empty wallets, the broken legs, the mockery! He pounds Murphy's law into our heads until we believe it. Yet fear is not from God (2 Timothy 1:7).

But the lanterns beckoned Rapunzel. The lanterns that beckoned her to her true identity - a royal one. And she could not be persuaded to forget her dream. Mother Gothel just shook her head. "You're 'sloppy, underdressed, immature, clumsy,'" she reminded Rapunzel. "Gullible, naive, positively grubby, ditsy, and a bit, well, vague. Plus, I believe, getting kind of chubby."

Because if the fear argument doesn't work, Satan will find something else. He'll dig deeper. No hit is too cheap. Calling? Please. As if you could have a calling. Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? And awkward moments follow you wherever you go. You can't possibly consider a destiny, an identity bigger than who you are. You'd never make it. You'd fail. You're a failure at everything else. Those are Satan's words. They are the farthest thing from God's mind (Isaiah 43:4). (It's worth noting here that Rapunzel is none of the things that Mother Gothel says she is. Lies, lies, lies! Satan is the father of lies! (John 8:44))

And last, but certainly not least, what happens when Rapunzel does pursue her true identity? Mother Gothel doesn't give up, of course she doesn't. Instead she uses whatever weapon she can lay hands on. Rapunzel is rapidly falling in love with Flynn Rider, and she tells Mother Gothel, "I think he likes me." With a blush that only comes with first love. And Mother Gothel stoops low: "Likes you? Please, Rapunzel! This whole romance that you've invented just proves you're too naive to be here. Why would he like you? Come on now, really! Look at you: you think that he's impressed?"

For this is the truth that Satan desperately wants you to disbelieve. Not only that you have not been given a spirit of fear, not only that you are beautiful beyond belief (Genesis 1:26), but that you are liked by God. You are liked. The God of the universe likes you. And once you accept its possibility, once you believe it - you are invincible. Which is why Satan will do anything to convince you that it is an impossibility, that you are worthless and undeserving.

But God does like you. It's not enough that He made you, not enough that loves you so much He died. He goes so far as to like you. And that, my friends, is the truth. Close your ears to the lies of the enemy. You are fully capable of fulfilling your destiny, because you are liked by God.

Pirates of the Caribbean: I'd Die For Her

2011-04-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

And that, my friends, is exactly what happened 2000 years ago this weekend.

That's what Easter is all about, Charlie Brown! :)

A Cinderella Story: Crazy, Unheard Of, and Inconceivable

2011-03-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

Everybody thinks Austin Ames is crazy. He met a girl. He fell in love with a girl.

He doesn't know the girl's name.

His friends tell him to drop it. He has his pick of the entire school. Everybody knows it, especially the girl in question: Sam Montgomery. There's no reason why he shouldn't just forget the masked princess at the ball and choose from the line of girls his friends bring him.

But he doesn't want the other girls. He wants Sam. And he's willing to do crazy, unheard of, inconceivable to find her.

His friends don't get it. The other girls don't get it. Sam doesn't get it, and has little intention of revealing her true identity to him.

But he still wants Sam. He's not giving up.

Jesus loves you. He's chosen you. He wants you.

He's willing to do the crazy, the unheard of, the inconceivable to find you. He's willing to don flesh instead of rainbows, to come down among the dirt and the poor and the cruel. Crazy, for a deity to do that. Unheard of, for God to leave His throne. Inconceivable, to think that He would bear wounds just for the sake of finding you.

A crazy in-love prince is pursuing you. Give in.

Prince of Persia: The Bond of Brothers

2010-06-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

A/N: This post is particularly full of theories and ideas. If you have any theological disputes with what I've said, I welcome your opinion. I should have spent a lot more time on these ideas than I did, but I simply cannot research them; I don't have the time. If there is anything you feel is untrue or misleading, please tell me.

Continuing on with the idea that we are the undeserved, adopted, beloved children of the King of kings, just as Dastan is the undeserved, adopted, beloved child of Persia’s ruler, I would like to take a look at Dastan’s role in the story, the role of his brothers, and the their relationships with each other and the king.

“The bond of brothers is what holds the Persian empire together,” the king tells his children. The bond of brothers.

The biological sons of the king of Persia are good men, and they shall inherit the throne. As the narrator tells us at the beginning of the movie, Dastan has “no hope of the throne.” His adopted brothers the firstborn. He gives them reverence throughout the movie; maybe not obedience, but he respects them totally as the heirs to the throne. He has no qualms with them being the firstborn, with them being related by blood to the king.

I would like to put forth that Dastan’s two brothers can be paired with the Jews. They are God’s chosen people, the firstborn. The Gentiles are adopted, grafted in, only by the kindness of God. We are the prodigal son. We are the adopted, without any right to be royal.

We are like Dastan in that way, and it is interesting to note that his love for his father was just as strong as his brothers’; we love our Father like our Jewish brothers and sisters do.

It almost seemed, throughout the movie, that Dastan loved his father more than his brothers did. I don’t claim to understand the hearts of men, but I will note that Dastan knew he was completely undeserving of royalty.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…” – Romans 3:23

And I know that Jesus said this,

“Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, [the same] loveth little.” – Luke 7:47 (Luke 7:36-50)

I would also refer here to Luke 15:11-32, the story of the Prodigal Son. Dastan was not the son who left and returned, was lost and was found, but, there was an older brother and all that the Father had was his. This story meshes very well, but I’m only going to touch on it here and let you read into the rest.

SUMMARY

Dastan's father = God
Dastan's brothers = the Jews (Luke 15:11-32)

They had Dastan's respect and reverence.

Dastan = Gentiles, grafted in

Dastan did not expect the inheritance of the throne nor did he seek it.

Dastan's love for his father = Our love for God

Dastan's love for his father was different from that of his brothers because he knew he was undeserving (Romans 3:23; Luke 7:47).

Prince of Persia: He Found Me

2010-05-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Dastan was an orphan. He was an orphan with a good heart, but he was still an orphan. He was still without a father. And then he did something worthy of death.

We are orphans. We may think we’re good, but we’re still without fathers. And we have done things worth of death, worthy of an eternity in hell, worthy of total destruction. Even our good deeds are like filthy rags to God, the king. And we deserve to lower our head and have it severed from our bodies.

And then the king shows up. Instead of condemning the boy, he decides to take him as his own son. Dastan the fatherless becomes Dastan the son of the king, a prince of Persia.

What a beautiful picture of God! To lift an orphan from the gutter and not only clothe and feed him, but to love him, to call him son, to make him beloved. That is what God has done with us; He has not only saved our lives and our souls, but He has called us beloved. He has called us His children. We are the children of the king.

There is a scene from Prince of Persia not yet available on the internet. I wish I could quote the conversation in full between Dastan and Tamina or post a video of the scene. However, since the movie is still new to America, I can do neither. But, in my memory, Tamina was goading him, telling him that he walked just like a prince of Persia, haughty, determined, and spoiled since birth. He turned on her then, abruptly, and told her who he was. He told her that he was not a prince, that the king had taken him into the palace. He told her that he had grown up in the gutters, and then he said three words that floored me, that sent tremors through my heart.

“And then,” Dastan looked at Tamina, his face wrenched with anguish and guilt over his beloved father’s death, and swallowed. “He…” he looked to the side, trying to decide how to explain what had happened, how he had come from the gutter to be a prince of Persia, “…found me.”

I think that’s pretty self-explanatory.

He found me. I don’t know how it happened, it wasn’t anything that I did, but He found me.

Star Wars: Savior

2010-05-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

"I'm Luke Skywalker, and I'm here to rescue you!"

And so it begins. Luke Skywalker is a savior. Once he completes his training, he becomes the one who saves. His transformation from impetuous kid in A New Hope to eager learner in The Empire Strikes Back is complete as savior in The Return of the Jedi. The story wastes no time in making hims so; the first conflict in The Return of the Jedi is relatively minor in the larger scope of things. Han Solo, friend and ally, is to be rescued from the notorious Jabba the Hut.

Leia and Chewbacca have a plan to save Han, but it only makes problems worse for Luke, in the end. Now he has three to save instead of one. And he does it; he does it calmly, quickly, and easily. He saves. Without batting an eye, he becomes the savior. With this daring, those watching know his role immediately: he is a savior. But it's not actually the galaxy that he saves.

He saves Darth Vader, who represents man. He saves the one they said could not be saved. Too far gone, too evil, too ensnared. But that was not what Luke believed. Luke believed that there was good in him, Luke believed that he could leave the dark side. Luke was not going to give up; the caution of Yoda, Ben, and Leia as well as the resistance of Vader didn't slow him down. He was going to save the fallen one, because he loved him.

And thus he set out on an offensive mission to save. Luke was not captured in The Return of the Jedi. He turned himself in. The first words out of his mouth are not, "Oh, please don't kill me!" No, he's there with a purpose, with one thing on his mind.

"I've accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker...It is the name of your true self. You've only forgotten. I know there is good in you. The Emperor hasn't driven it from you fully. That is why you couldn't destroy me. That's why you won't bring me to your Emperor now."

He is a man with a mission. He's coming in with guns blazing. He has a purpose, and that purpose is to save.

When Jesus came, he didn't come in a wishy-washy way. He came with one purpose, the purpose of saving those He loves. He didn't wait around to begin saving; the moment he began His ministry, it was, "I am here to save. Like it or not, I'm on a mission. That's why I'm here. I'm on a saving offensive."

The ultimate rank for Luke was that of a Jedi Knight. That was what he was striving to attain, the glory he wanted and had trained for. Yet Yoda told him that he must confront Vader. "Then, only then, a Jedi will you be."

Luke could not attain the pinnacle of Jedi Knight until he faced Vader, the fallen one. Until he saved Vader, the fallen one. Jesus received His glory and His worship through saving the fallen.

"...he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has exalted place and given him the name that is above every name..." - Philippians 2:8-9

Luke's sole mission, his sole passion, his sole direction was to save. He wasn't there to save a life. He was there to save a soul. The redemption of the chosen one, the fallen one was his mission. He succeeded and became a Jedi.

Jesus' sole mission, His sole passion, His sole direction was to save. He wasn't here to save lives. He was here to save souls. The redemption of the chosen ones, the fallen ones was His mission. He succeeded and at His name every knee shall bow.

~~~

A/N (Author's Note): My search for accurate quotes took me far over the internet (and made typing this blog post a lot longer than it should have been). In my quest, I discovered the International Movie Script Database, which is one of the coolest sites I've found, though I don't really know its use. In the script for A New Hope, I discovered that Star Wars was originally meant to be taken from the Journal of the Whills. Having never heard of this, I happened upon this Wookiepedia article and learned all about it. (For as much of a Star Wars fan as I am, I was surprised I didn't know this.) But there was an interesting note there (that I discovered after I had finished this post):

"...and in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior."

At the time that the prophecy was written (1975), the prophecy of the Chosen One had not yet been written. Thus it did indeed refer to Luke. Then, in the 1990s (while introducing the Special Edition of A New Hope on VHS), George Lucas said the following:

"...Anakin's offspring [Luke] redeem him..."

Whoa. That I discovered in the course of writing this A/N. (If I had discovered it earlier, I'm sure this post would have been a lot longer.)

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Voice

2010-03-05T19:38:00.001-08:00

Percy Jackson has never met his father. He’s lived his entire life alone, without someone to call “Dad.” (This essay isn’t going to delve into his resentment towards his father. That’s not what I’m here to write about, and it doesn’t fit into the allegory.) He’s the son of a god, a god whom he has never seen. He has power beyond belief and the enemies to prove it.

He’s not ready. He thinks he’s an average, or maybe less-than-average, kid, hampered by dyslexia and ADHD. And his life does not include evading Furies, Medusa, Hydra, or the Lotus land of never-ending happiness. He’s not prepared. It’s not like every kid on the block spends time practicing sword-fighting and manipulating water.

But those skills are in his blood. It’s not something he can run away from. Despite this purpose, despite his unshakable lineage and pursuers, he’s not prepared. He may have certain skills that he was never taught, certain instincts that he knows without thinking. But he doesn’t know how to be what he was born to be. He doesn’t know what being a demigod means, and he most definitely doesn’t know how to perform to his potential. He’s walking into a trap; he’s wounded and dying, beaten by a girl.

And then he hears the voice. The voice that knows who he is and what he should be. The voice that tells him that things are about to change. The voice that tells him to touch the water and be healed. It’s a voice that carefully guides him towards performing his destiny to the best of his ability.

It’s the voice of his father, watching and loving and leading. It gave him advice when it was most needed and guidance when he was at a crossroads. There may be no face to accompany its sound, but it’s most definitely real. And Percy Jackson listens.

We have a father that we do not see. Unlike Percy’s father, he is not restrained. But He does watch us, and He does speak. He leads us towards our purpose, the destiny we were made for, with little nudges. Oftentimes it’s unheard, but then we’ll sense a voice. Usually we brush it off, completely ignorant that it is our Father, speaking to us. He wants to help us, wants to lead us, wants to be there for us. And He speaks.

All you have to do is listen. Listen, take heed, and obey.

Avatar: The Cost of Adoption

2010-01-05T21:59:00.000-08:00

Jake Sully is a human amidst Na'vi. He is an earthling on Pandora. He does not believe in Eyra. He has come with a mission that will ruin an entire race forever. He's not exactly the best candidate to be chosen by Eyra, much less become a Na'vi.

Yet he is chosen. And he does become a Na'vi. He is adopted by Eyra and the Na'vi to fully become one of them. No longer an avatar, he is the real thing.

It's such a beautiful picture of God's adoption of us. He chose us before we stood in awe before Him, and He wanted to adopt us. He wanted us to become one of His family.

Yet Jake Sully could not do so unless his earthly body died. He had to see the corpse of that broken, paralyzed body in order to be fully Na'vi. It wasn't like it was particularly nice, but wouldn't you be attached to your skin and bones, the things that you thought made you - you? But would you see, as Jake did, that it was less than what he was made for? He was made to run. He was made to be free.

We hold on to so many things, things that slow us down, things that cause us to be broken. Yet we must throw them off! The old is gone, the new is come! When we come to God, He does not simply save us. He. Makes. Us. New.

Hebrews 12:1

2 Corinthians 5:17

Luke 5:37-38

Romans 12:2

Matthew 11:28-30

Jake Sully loved his Na'vi self. He could walk, he could run. He could fly. I don't imagine that he ever looked back at the corpse beside him under the tree of Erya.

Don't look back. You were made for more. Run.

Avatar: The Annoyance of the Call

2010-01-05T21:39:00.000-08:00

The credit for this discovery goes to my dad, who recognized and then vocalized it to honor my love of allegories.

Jake Sully had no purpose. This fact practically oozes from his every motion from the moment we meet him; he's jumping at the chance for a "fresh start". He's only on Pandora because of the death of his brother, and that doesn't negate the fact that everything he once had is lost and that his future must be bleak. His family is dead, and he is trapped in a wheelchair.

Finding his destiny - his future, his calling - is the last thing on his mind. He's on a strange planet, with a strange girl, and he's watching his back as he experiences a world unlike anything he's ever known. Together, they traipse through a blacklit jungle; he's intrigued, but he's also lost and desperate.

Finally, Neytiri stops him and tells him to return, and then something happens. The "pure spirits," the seeds of Eyra, descend towards them. Neytiri freezes, in awe of what deserves respect in her world, but Jake does no such thing. After a curious perusal of the serene, airborne jellyfish, he begins to feel mobbed and tries to bat one away.

Neytiri grabs his arm, and then his other arm as he continues the defense. "No."

The seeds of Eyra descend upon him. They cover his arms and head, bobbing gently. And then they fly away, leaving him confused and Neytiri shocked.

As the movie progresses, we realize that they are more or less the physical signs of Eyra, the deity of the Na'vi. And we - and Jake - realize something that Neytiri knew at once: their alighting upon Jake was a sign of Eyra's choosing. Jake was called by Eyra. His life's purpose was on Pandora.

He batted them away.

How many times has God and His purpose for your life come knocking at your door? How many times has it seemed an annoyance, or perhaps something darker, a pit of despair? How many times have you batted away the very thing that would take you where you are supposed to be?

It wasn't a loud voice on Pandora. The tree of Eyra didn't suddenly quiver or get struck with lightening when Jake Sully approached. No, it was simpler than that. It was odd, floating, little jellyfish that showed a particular interest in an avatar.

It's not a loud voice from heaven here, either. It could be something your best friend said. It could be something that a stranger said. It could be a traffic jam, or a death in the family. It could be that one person who won't leave you alone; it could be that one dream, that one thought, that won't leave you alone.

Take heed before you bat it away. It may lead to your destiny.

Avatar: With Faith Like a Child

2010-01-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

“You are like a child,” Neytiri tells Jake with disdain. “Stupid. Like a baby."

It’s nothing Jake hasn’t heard before. Back at base camp, in his real, paraplegic body, all he hears about is how his intelligence is nowhere near the level of his dead twin brother. “Let your mind go blank,” says Dr. Grace Augustine. “That should be easy for you.”

So it’s nothing new when Neytiri considers him below her. He’s below every being, it seems, both human and Na’vi. Hidden beneath his signature cockiness, there’s an attitude of humility. He knows he’s not the right human to become Na’avi, and he knows that he makes a pretty poor Na’avi in Neytiri’s eyes.

Eyra chooses him. She doesn’t choose Dr. Augustine or Norm. She chooses the one who isn’t ready, isn’t trained, and isn’t knowledgeable. She chooses the one who Neytiri calls an uncomprehending child.

Though his intentions are murky at first, Jake enters the world of the Na’vi with genuine humility. If he had let his pride get in the way, Neytiri or her betrothed would probably have killed him before the story progressed far. But he humbled himself before Neytiri first, and then the remainder of the clan.

He had faith like a child. The cockiest avatar became the most humble Na’avi. And he became the greatest Na’vi.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto me and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven.” It is that kind of humility – a childlike ignorance and acceptance thereof – that leads to choosing, using, and raising by God. Eyra chose Jake, the child. God wants to choose you, but you must humble yourself like a child.

If you are already broken, and you feel as if you could never walk again. If you have nothing, if you know you are unlearned. If you know you are untrained, and you are sure that you are unready, then you are in the place where God can raise you up. You are in the place where God finds His chosen ones.

Neytiri thought very little of Jake when she first met him. When she first saw him, she saw him as an invader and, thus, a target. But she listened. She saw the seeds of Eyra, first on her arrow and then on Jake, and she acknowledged them.

Do not disdain the lowly and poor. Do not look down on the humble. The greatness that God has in store for them is unequaled in your imagination, so humble yourself and follow the Spirit's leading.

It is very hard for the proud to be raised up because they think they already touch the clouds, but the humble shall be anointed to fly among the stars.

Gladiator: The Quest For Love

2009-11-19T12:07:00.000-08:00

The young emperor, Commodus, desires one thing, and one thing alone. He wants to be loved. The hunger for love is what fuels him and drives him. As a child, he never recieved it; as an adult, no one could bring themselves to give it.

In order to win the love of the people, he brought back the gladiatorial games in the arena. He strove to win the love of his sister, Lucilla, whom he had watched with lustful eyes for a very long time. But nothing that he did gained him any sort of love, only hate. Soon, the crowds booed him and cheered for Maximus, the man who never commanded love but was given it because of his selflessness. And soon, even his sister could not conceal a cold, dark hatred towards him.

Being the emperor, he was in a unique position. He could have commanded love; indeed, he did just that. He contrived to kill Maximus, and he forced Lucilla to love him in return for her son's life. But yet, nothing he did won him the love that he so desperately wanted. Nothing he did earned him unconditional, freely given love.

It drove him mad. What furthered this condition was the fact that the love he wanted was given to his rival, Maximus. His father had loved Maximus and chosen him as heir. The crowd loved Maximus and applauded his defiance of the emperor. And, like a twist of the sword in an already deep wound, his very sister loved Maximus as a woman loves a man.

The differences in the two men are striking, perhaps intentionally so. Maximus earns the love of his men, the emperor, his squire, the emperor's daughter, his master, his fellow slaves, and the gladitorial mob. Commodus earns the love of absolutely no one, yet he tries the hardest. Maximus does nothing but practice selflessness and a sound mind; his one desire is to see his family once again. And later, after their deaths, he selflessly fights to keep Lucilla's son safe and Rome in the hands of the senate.

Is it possible that actual selflessness is the key to gaining love? God was in the exact position as Commodus. He, the Ruler of the universe, desired the love of His subjects. It was entirely in His hand to force them to love Him. He could easily have wired it into their minds. But He didn't.

We don't serve a Commodus. The God we serve practiced absolute selflessness - a human frame, and a human death - in order to win our love. We don't serve a Commodus, my friends. We serve a Maximus who wants only to win our love. We serve a God who is unselfishly jealous and humbly proud, who leads with wisdom and loves with passion.

The Lord of the Rings: Put Aside the Ranger

2009-10-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

Insecure is, admittedly, over the top when referring to Aragorn. He is fearless, he is wise, he is a born leader who has no qualms about taking the reins. Men follow him to their deaths, and he bears this weight honorably and responsibly.

Yet there is one position of leadership that he does not seem to covet. His greatest title, King of Gondor, is not one that he uses. In fact, he himself never concerns himself with making sure his companions know his high lineage. It is always others who do so. ("Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth;" - Proverbs 27:2a)

It is almost as if he is comfortable with his nomadic, disdained life as a Ranger. Quietly protecting those who give him no credit, skilled beyond belief in woodcraft and fighting, he holds a strange honor as leader of the foresters. Despite the dirt and grime, the lack of close friendship and fellowship, he goes by the nothing-name of Strider and is content. Of course the fact that he is a king lingers in his eyes, but seek out the throne he does not.

Humility it may be or seem, but I venture to wonder if it is something more realistic. Something akin to fear and disbelief that he, Ranger of the North, could ever hope to wear the crown of Gondor. Something that allows him to accept Legolas' announcement that he is king and yet forces him to quiet his longtime friend. Yes, he hopes for the throne. Yes, he knows his lineage. Perhaps he even knows that he has been carefully groomed by the king of elves for the very hour when he shall become the Lord of the Citadel.

You know you are chosen. Perhaps you even believe that someday, somehow, you shall attain whatever it is that God has promised you. Yet you do not mention it, and you go about your life as if it were something imaginary. Something you can see, but whenever you grasp for it, it slips through your fingers. You believe, yet you ignore.

Aragorn looked into the mountain of death and felt drawn, yet he did not go. He waited, restless, feeling that it was his time, yet unsure that it could really be true. Unsure that the destiny that had called was really going to come to him this day. Now.

A rider cloaked in black ascended the hilltop, and he brought with him something that Aragorn had wished for, dreamnt of, hoped for, but never truly believed in. No longer the shards of Narsil, it was the reforged sword called Anduril. It was a sword that only a king could weild. Aragorn had to accept his destiny before he could honestly call the sword his own.

And accepting one's destiny, however beautiful, splendid, and hoped for, is a very, very difficult thing. Even when it is handed to you, ready and waiting, going forth into it is something only you can do. The fact that it is there does not change the fact that you must accept it and go.

You would think, that after 87 years of being told he was king, should be king, would be king, Aragorn would grasp it and nod his head in readiness. You would think that the fire in his eyes would burn as he imagined the crown upon his brow already. But he did not. He held the sword - his dream - with wonderment and a hint of disbelief, and Elrond had to push him over the edge,

"Put aside the Ranger. Become who you were born to be."

In order to become who he was born to be, Aragorn had to first put off who he was. He could not be both ranger and king. You cannot be both humdrum and passionate. You were born to be something - God saw to that - yet you cannot remain who you are today if you are to grasp your destiny that has been handed to you.

Aragorn did. He wore the sword, he wielded it, and he took upon himself the responsibility that came with it. Despite the fact that kingship was his destiny, it still entailed things he didn't want to do. He was much less than thrilled than entering the mountain of death, a place where fear abided and his heart felt drawn. He knew what he must do, and he banished fear from his mind. He was Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir of Elendil and king of Gondor, and he "did not fear death."

Acting on one's destiny does not mean that trials will no longer come, that the road will be clear and battles few. No, no, my friend! For the instant Aragorn took the sword, he plunged himself into a danger more dark than anything anyone in the fellowship had yet encountered in their quest. His first act was to go into the valley.

It was because he finally believed in his destiny - believed in its reality - that he feared nothing in the mountain. It was because he put aside the ranger that he was allowed to pass unscathed through hordes of the dead. It was because he became who he was born to be that he had the honor needed to call the treacherous armies to his aid and win a vital battle for Middle-Earth.

Put aside the Ranger. Become who you were born to be.

The Dark Knight: The Prize is the Soul

2009-07-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

I am not the only one who has sat and puzzled about allegories in The Dark Knight. It's the kind of movie that seems like it ought to lend itself to allegories, yet when you dig deeper, you find yourself in a maze of twists and turns, could-bes and neverminds. You already know that sometimes I'll play with the story a little bit to make it fit my allegorical ends, but something about The Dark Knight screams that there is an obvious parallel to be made. It just needs to be found. (And no - good guess, but no - it's not Batman's sacrificial bearing of blame.)

It's Gotham and, in a man, Harvey Dent. Not Batman or Bruce. Not Gordon. Not Rachel. This story is not about them. The prize fought for is Harvey and, more generally, Gotham. Which is not what the viewer is led to suspect.

When the movie begins, when the Joker is revealed, you assume that it's Batman he's after. After all, Batman is the good guy, the savior of Batman Begins, the prince, the prize. There is no better man for the Joker to antagonize than Batman. Yet that's not who he sets his sights upon as he begins his own game. Sure the game involves Batman; he's a necessary part of the story. He completes the love triangle between Rachel and Harvey. He is the big secret that Gordon won't spill.

But he's not the prize. Harvey Dent is the prize.

Is it because the Joker knows that he can't beat Batman? Does he just accept that this is his archrival, a fitting opponent to someone so ingenius as himself? Someone to play with, someone who will unwittingly play to the Joker's rules? He tells Batman, "This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object." He considers him unbeatable. So he sets his sights on something else, something that adds a thrill to his game, something he can actually win: the soul of Harvey Dent.

And the soul of Gotham. Until the end of the story, they are synonymous. The Joker systematically goes about to break their spirits completely. He manipulates Harvey into living and Harvey's love into death. He forces the city of Gotham into turmoil, betraying their own, turning against their savior. He doesn't rush about killing thousands of people; he doesn't have to. His real methods are much more subtle, and much less noticed.

It's not a battle for a person, dead or alive. It's the battle for the soul. The Joker would benefit nothing from Harvey's death. And that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to turn Harvey from "Gotham's white knight" to the dust, to evil. And he had the advantage, for evil is what we are born into. "Madness, as you know, is like gravity," the Joker tells Batman. "All it takes is a little push!" David writes, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me." We're much more susceptible to evil than to good.

And, in the battle for the soul of Harvey Dent, the Joker was the victor. Harvey believed the lies, believed the darkness, and he became the very thing he had once worked against. He became the Joker's ace, agreeing that the villian was right. He could - did - fall. He began as the epitome of good, and he ended as vengeful evil, the prize of the Joker.

But there was another soul in whom the Joker had interest. It wasn't one man, it was a city. The city of Gotham. And after he had kneaded their minds into thoughts of betrayal, of murder, of fear, of panic, he sent them onto the water and told them to kill each other. He had representatives from both sides of Gotham: the mob criminals, and average citizens.

Neither pressed the detonator. Neither took a life. And that was the shattering blow to the Joker. That was the evidence that with all his effort, he had not won. Sure it was hard, the gravity of darkness pulled at them ravenously. Yet they did not succumb.

And that was victory. The Joker waited for fireworks and was disappointed.

The demise of the Joker's plot was not the sustaining of Harvey's good repuation by Batman's sacrifice. No, it was in the resilence of ordinary people, a motley crew. Yet it was they who won, they who gained the upper hand, the victory.

(It is worth noting that the enemy's prey was not, who is in this case, the savior-prince. It's the people, the same people who in Batman Begins were not considered worth living. That's his target. We are made in the image of God, and that in itself is enough to be worthy of his hate. And everyday he plays with our minds, working tirelessly and brilliantly, and hoping that it will be enough to gain our souls: the prize. He can usually predict us, and can read human nature well. It is only when we stay grounded with our eyes on God, the Great Protector, that we have any hope of victory.)

Batman Begins: The Defeat of Justice

2009-07-05T19:16:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, there was a people, a city. Once good, once ruled by a good ruler, once lovers of all that was light and good, they had sunken into the pit of corruption. The ruler was gone; hope was gone. They lied, they stole, they lived in utter fear of the evil one. Yet they did nothing, they hoped for nothing. They had no hope. All they knew was fear as they lived in the dankest, darkest hole of evil that you’ve ever seen.

Most – at least, those who bothered to care – said they were too far gone to hope for redemption. Justice demanded that they be wiped off the face of the earth. They weren’t worth saving. And, possibly, they themselves might have agreed with this statement. They knew their faults; they knew that they had not lived up to the standard so recently abandoned; they knew they weren’t where they were made to be.

The city’s name is Gotham. “Only a cynical man would call what these people have "lives," Wayne. Crime, despair... this is not how man was supposed to live.”

The people’s name is human. “Therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.”

And when justice came – as justice always comes, silent and utterly fair – their deserved end would have come. Fear. Death. It was kinder than the majority of them deserved; if fairness was the rule, then the morgue was fair end.

The city’s name is Gotham. “Gotham's time has come. Like Constantinople or Rome before it the city has become a breeding ground for suffering and injustice. It is beyond saving and must be allowed to die. This is the most important function of the League of Shadows. It is one we've performed for centuries. Gotham... must be destroyed.”

The people’s name is human. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Yet justice met the prince of the people, the son of the good, beloved ruler. And justice laughed in the face of mercy.

The prince is Batman. His enemy said, “It should be you standing by my side, saving the world.”

The prince is Jesus, His father is justice. His enemy said, “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.””

Neither gave in. They never would.

The prince is Batman. He answered, “I'll be standing where I belong. Between you and the people of Gotham.”

His enemy said, “No one can save Gotham.”

But the enemy was wrong.

And in our world, Jesus stretched out his arms and died. And in the face of death, He laughed. For in His death, He won. Against death he fought, yes. But also against justice.

Justice would have all of Gotham slain. Justice would have every human sent to hell. But there is a place for justice. The end of all things is just, but not in the way we would expect. Not what we would call just. Yet in this marvelous and impossible composition, justice and mercy merge into one.

The Legend of Zorro: Wayward Bride, I Love Thee

2008-12-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

Put aside, for a moment, the fact that Elena was/felt forced to divorce her husband and carry on a relationship with that villain, Armand. Pretend, for a moment, that you are Alejandro; he knew nothing of the Pinkerton detectives, nothing of Elena's internal struggle. Remember that she had, before the detectives get involved, kicked him out of the house.

Her dismissal of his love gave him immense grief, turning him into something he had left behind him. Yet he pursued her relentlessly, annoyingly, even. Yet he pursued, he pursued vigorously. He pursued her love so intensely that the Pinkertons were forced to imprison him so that he didn't compromise Elena's cover.

And when he learned the enormity of danger that his beloved was in, he threw all his resources behind her rescue. He purposely risked endangering the world to save her life, as well as his son's. He wanted her back, loved her passionately, pursued her relentlessly. And though the moment was played her laughs, he forgave her, no deceit in his words.

They had a second wedding. And the way the movie played it: this time it was for good, for all time.

We are different from Elena. We have not been forced to choose between the revealing of Zorro's true identity or the divorcing of our beloved.

But we have divorced our beloved. In the garden, we forsook his love and chose another path.

He should have let us be. He should have sighed and worried and let us be. After all, He is God. Grieving over the loss of human love should be nothing.

But it is everything! Every single book, every single chapter, every single verse, every single word; they are nothing but a relentless pursuing of the human heart by God. The Hero, the Warrior, the Protector pursues...You. He loves you, He forgives you, He wants you back. Return to Him, return to the One who loves you with an everlasting love!

You must remember that there is a villian who also pursues your heart, and he is nastier than Armand. Nitroglycerin is not his weapon, but he seeks to kill and destroy - you.

Choose now; they both pursue you. One offers forgiveness and love.

And someday there will be a wedding, a wedding more grand than any you've ever attended. And the Lord will take His bride. Forevermore.

The Mask of Zorro: The Birth of a Legend

2008-11-28T18:44:00.000-08:00

A long time ago, even before you were born, there was a villian. The people hated him, yet they could do very little against him. But there was one - a hero - who was willing to risk himself to save them. He was bold, daring, dashing, brave, adventerous. And he protected the people. He was a warrior, my friend, a warrior like we had never seen before.

And then, with the villian's departure from our land, he disappeared.

For twenty long years, no one heard any word of him. The land was in relative peace, until now. Now, the villian has returned. Now, he prepares to enslave and murder the people of the land. Now, we are once again helpless.

Now we must we must wait, and pray, and hope.

Someone will save us. The legend must return.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Practice Obsessively

2008-10-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

“I practice three hours a day, so that when I meet a pirate, I can kill it!”

Does anyone in their right mind practice three hours a day of anything? Only someone who is obsessed. For the citizens in Port Royal, the villain of life was a pirate. Will Turner’s imagination held only one person as the bad guy, as evil personified: a pirate. So what did Will do? He devoted his time to perfecting the art of conquering said pirate. To destroy evil, Will felt that he must destroy piracy.

We are barely different from Will. Like Will, we know the evil we fight. Unlike Will, most of us do not devote our time to the art of vanquishing that enemy. Instead, we obsess over the more frivolous things of life: things so foolish that we would laugh at them – if we didn’t do them ourselves. We devote our time to the latest fashion, the hottest date, the newest car, the sturdiest truck, the biggest house, the richer job.

Man was made to obsess, to devote time to a particular project. Our project is just like Will’s. We must devote ourselves to vanquishing the enemy. Our enemy is Satan, our sword is the Bible, and our practice is the amount of time we spend in the Word, memorizing it and putting it into our daily life.

If Will had not practiced sword-fighting, do you think Captain Jack Sparrow would have had to cheat to win. If I’m not mistaken, Jack is not a bad swordsman himself. He shouldn’t have had to cheat. But he did, revealing Will to be his better in the art. Seriously: If Will had not practiced so often with the sword, do you honestly think that he would have survived POTC1 and gone on to have a sequel?

We’ve been given a sword that will never break. We know our enemy and his tactics. All that’s left to us is the devotion – and obsession – to practice.

(originally written on 8/25/06)

The Spiderwick Chronicles: Jared the Prodigal

2008-08-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

"I don't want to live with you! I hate you!"

That was the last thing that Jared Grace told his mother. Since then, he's nearly spent the rest of his life in the land of ghosts, been attacked by goblins, and barricaded himself and his family in his house. He's finally won -- the evil ones are vanquished -- but there's still something to say.

"I'm sorry," he says, almost whimpering now.

His mother says that no, she's sorry for not believing him about goblins and brownies.

Jared persists. "I'm sorry, and, I want to live here...if that's okay."

"If that's okay?" she echoes incredulously. For she never had any qualms with taking back her son, however much his anger takes him at times.

Yet that is who we are. We have scorned God and His gift of forgiveness. Of course we come back and say we're sorry, but sometimes, deep in our hearts, we wonder if that is enough. We wonder if, this time, God's finally had enough.

What we forget is that God is always echoing, incredulously, "If that's okay?" He wants us back, never had any thoughts of pushing us away because of sin. The debt is paid, and His love for us is stronger than Jared's mother was for him.

Just as the thought of sending Jared away because of what he'd said was unimaginable to his mother, so is God's heart toward us. Never forget that.

The Spiderwick Chronicles: Of Boys and Men

2008-08-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

Throughout the movie, Jared has been a bit of a jerk. He hits things when he's angry. He refuses a connection with his mom. And he obviously has a history of such behaviour since they all look at him when something goes wrong.

His anger stems from his dad's departure from the family. Still, the boy is sure that his dad will return. Together, they will leave the creepy mansion in which they've found themselves and return to New York. Their lives there will return to normal, and dad, hero in his son's eyes, will be the warrior he has always been.

Only, things don't go according to plan. Dad doesn't come. He doesn't return any phone calls. Finally, Jared's older sister, Mallory tells him the truth. There's another woman now; Dad moved in with her. They've all been betrayed.

Jared tears up, but that's about all he does. Suddenly, there is no more warrior to save him. Dad's gone for good. Mom doesn't believe him. Mallory's helpful, but she's looking to him now. Simon's a pacifist, doesn't like conflict. No help there.

Jared becomes the warrior. His siblings are looking to him, following his lead. Even his mom, once she's in on the fantasy, is looking to him to know what to do. With goblins throwing themselves against his front door, Jared grows up. He takes charge. There is no longer anyone to take the blame for things going wrong in his life -- except him. He's in the lead, and the lives of his family rest on his young shoulders.

After the battle, when all has been won, his mother calls him to her. "You're my protector," she says.

That is a man's place: protector of the women and children. Jared learned this the way no child should have to learn, but, unlike some, he learned the lesson that was before them. He became a leader. And that is all that could be asked for from such a battle.

The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Unseen World

2008-08-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

There are invisible beings all around us. Some have only our best interests in mind. Some wish us ill.

This is the fantastic message of The Spiderwick Chronicles. It makes the movie into the impossible. Goblins, brownies, ogres, and sprites don't really exist. We all know that. And so many of us would be tempted to disregard the entire story as fiction.

But in every fiction there is some truth, and this movie is no exception. All around us -- all around you, reader, right now -- are beings that, if you could see them, you would call magical. They're unique, like nothing you've ever seen before. Not animal. Not human. They are awe-inspiring and fear-inspiring and generally frightful.

Not all of them wish you evil. Many are servants of God, doing His bidding with a joyful and worshippful heart.

But some of them are evil. They're entire goal is to get you out of the equation. They don't let you see them and the trouble is...you believe that they don't exist. How easy it must be to fight an enemy who doesn't even believe that there is an attack!

Lucy is balancing on the line between protection and death. She can't see the goblins drooling for her blood on the other side of the line. She knows nothing of their existence.

Simon is looking for his cat in what he thinks is an empty yard. But Jared can see what his brother doesn't: the goblins just waiting for him to step over the line.

Mallory is practicing her fencing in the front yard, purposefully disobeying her younger brother's warning. She's confident that the yard is empty, until something bumps against her. Her sword plunges downward...and comes away dripping green.

Mom is driving up, preparing to park. Her children clamber into the car, and

her daughter takes the wheel. She thinks they've gone insane, but that's before there are various thumps and splats of green blood.

How can we live like there is no evil? They are out to get us, and they are out to win! Their whole life revolves on destroying us and our relationship with God. And what does our life revolve around? Our clothes, our hair, our friends, our family.

Lucy loved her father. Simon loved his cat. Mallory loved her fencing. Mom loved her children. But they were all forced to discover that there was an evil seeking them. And in their quest, they found an adventure better than they could wish for.

WALL-E: How Easily We Forget

2008-07-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

He’s saved not only the world, but all the humans who had deserted it. He’s battered, bruised, has lost an eye, and his computer chip is fried.
This is WALL-E, the now-famous little robot, during the last few minutes of his movie. His love, EVE, rushes him back to his abode, where she proceeds to fix him. She frantically installs a new eye and a new computer chip. She rushes him to the sun to recharge his solar-charging batteries.

After a breathless moment, he turns on with a familiar chime…and that’s all. Nothing else. He doesn’t say her name, doesn’t even recognize her. He simply turns and begins to ingest trash and spit it out in his trademark cubes. She follows him, desperate, and presses the “Play” button on his tape recorder. His favorite song, a love song now connected to EVE, is expected. But there’s only static.

EVE follows him, trying her utmost to remind him of who he was, of how she remembers him, of how much he loved her, and of how much she loves him now. But there is no response. He doesn’t even recognize her enough to push her away. He just turns, with something akin to confusion, and spits out another trash cube. This is all he knows. This is all that he can be. This is all he ever will be. It is enough to break your heart, and it certainly begins to break EVE’s.

We are WALL-E. We have been found half-dead, battered and bruised, by our Lover. And He has gently restored us, because He knows us better than we know ourselves. Because He loves us.

Then, once He has restored us, He challenges us to open our eyes. We do, and promptly turn in the other direction. Though He follows us desperately, we ignore Him without even knowing it. The greatest love we can imagine is right behind us, pleading for us to remember.

The only thing we can remember is what we are supposed to do. We remember our duty: our day-to-day grind. That’s all we know, all we remember, and, as far as we can tell, all we’re good for.

But the Lover won’t give up.

In one last, desperate attempt at a connection, EVE weaves her fingers through WALL-E’s claw. This is how he knows love. But there is still no response.

She begins to relinquish his claw in despair. Her fingers become stuck, and she looks at WALL-E with renewed hope in her eyes. Realization begins to dawn in his own, and he gives her something like a smile. Then he weaves his claw between her fingers.

And everyone lives happily ever after.