Frozen: True Love

...continued from Part 1

Ever since they were kids, Anna has known nothing but hurt from her older sister, Elsa. She doesn't remember the first time, when Elsa accidentally hit her with a magic snowball. But she does remember the "doors in her face," all those long years of being ignored. Most recent is Elsa's refusal to bless Anna's engagement to Prince Hans.

And yet, Anna is convinced that her sister, Elsa, is worth loving. Sure, she threw the land into an eternal winter, but there's still good in her, she can feel it.

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." -- 1 Corinthians 13:7

It's just going to take some convincing of Elsa. So Anna climbs the mountain with Kristoff at her side--

--and ends up stabbed through the heart by one of Elsa's icicles. Now she's dying, and the only cure is an act of true love. Well, thinks Anna, what can be more of an act of true love than true love's kiss?

But when she's this close to that kiss--and this close to dying without it--Anna runs the other way. She runs to save her sister, fearlessly putting herself between Elsa and the oncoming sword. The ice that has been overtaking her from that encounter with Elsa's icicle now takes over, crystallizing into statue. Anna is dead.

It would make some sense if she'd died for Hans, at least before she knew of his betrayal. Or Kristoff, who might just be the true love she was looking for. Olaf has been her friend; he deserves such sacrifice.

"Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good." -- Romans 5:7

But Elsa has singlehandedly ripped Anna's heart to shreds, both figuratively and literally. Elsa almost killed her--twice. She's slammed the door in her face again and again and again. Elsa is the reason the land is frozen. Elsa bears a power so strong people call it sorcery. She is feared, and with excellent reason. No one can think of a reason why she should stay alive. She ruins every thing she touches, every relationship she encounters.

And it's Elsa that Anna sacrifices her life for.

"Love covers a multitude of sins." -- 1 Peter 4:8

If you ever wanted a picture of God's love demonstrated, Anna's sacrifice is it. This blog often highlights themes of sacrifice. Will Turner trading himself for Elizabeth. Or even Flik taking one for the team in A Bug's Life. But this is different. Anna loves Elsa. And Elsa doesn't deserve it at all.

That's love. As the film points out, that is true love.

"There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." -- John 15:13

Life returns to Anna. Throughout the film, Anna is full of hopeful optimism and love. She loves love and wants only for everyone to be happy. She breathes goodness. When she sacrifices her life for Elsa's and becomes a heroic statue of ice, the very act of true love is what brings her back to life. It is her death which becomes the victory over death itself. 

"...death could not keep him (Jesus) in its grip." -- Acts 2:24

"He (Jesus) broke the power of death..." -- 2 Timothy 1:10

"...though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know...if she could have looked a little further back...She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards." -- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis

And Elsa? Elsa is free. Her powers no longer control her. Instead, she can use them--or not use them--however she pleases. No longer is she a slave.

The film is vague on how, exactly, Anna's sacrifice is the freedom of Elsa. But it hints towards one explanation: Elsa's experience of that unconditional love was enough.

We are undeserving. We have tried and tried and tried to control ourselves, to do good, but we have failed, and failed, and failed. Sin has got the better of us. We are pinned down by our mistakes and failures. We are desperate. We are trying. And, as Elsa sings, we "can't." If a good and wonderful person is going to die for someone, it's only logical that we're last on that list

But we're not. Not in Frozen, not in real life. Anna gives up her life--her good, honest, optimistic, hopeful life--and lays it down for the one person who has hurt her more than anyone else. Anna gives up her life for the very person who has frozen the kingdom, ruined her childhood, and almost killed her.

Elsa knows she doesn't deserve it. But Anna doesn't see things that way.

"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." -- Romans 5:8

To Anna, it doesn't matter what Elsa has done. The only thing that matters is that Anna loves Elsa, no matter what. And that's how God loves you. He dies for you, knowing full well what you've done, knowing that he is good and you are not, knowing that you've broken His heart time after time after time. But that's not what matters to Him. What matters is that He loves you. That's all that matters. He loves you.

And He has come to free you. He has died to free you from all the destruction of sin.

"For while you were slaves to sin, you could not do righteously...but now you are made free from sin." -- Romans 6:20, 22

Sin has ruined us. It has turned everything we touch into failure. It has sabotaged our relationships. We have hurt people, vowed to do better, and done worse. It has tricked us into lifestyles that keep us from success. Sin is the cause of every bad thing on this earth: war, poverty, disease, murder, rape, abuse, cheating. All of it. All because of sin. And without Jesus' death, without the heroic sacrifice for the people who have caused Him the most pain, there is no hope.

"For the wages of sin is death--

But, like Anna, He chooses true love and dies so that we can live.

"--but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus." -- Romans 6:23

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Frozen: Can't Control the Curse

My introduction to Frozen was the song, "Let It Go." I wasn't sure what to make of it. Sure, it was heroic and heartwrenching and beautiful--not to mention the flawless voice of Idina Menzel--but the lyrics intrigued me.

"Don't let them in, don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know
Well, now they know
Let it go, let it go, can't hold it back any more
Let it go, let it go, turn away and slam the door
I don't care what they're going to say." -- Elsa

Sure, everyone has felt like that at some point, forced to be perfect, and there's definitely a place for us to throw off the restraints of society and be ourselves {and no one should ever be forced to be perfect}. But knowing what I knew at the time about Elsa--she spent her childhood hiding a magical ability to command the ice and snow--and being the sort of person who likes to predict things, I wondered if this newest Disney film was going to be something of a coming out story, an allegory for embracing our "true self," no matter the cost to ourselves and others. That's what I was prepared for when I sat down in the theater, settled back in my seat, and entered the kingdom of Arrandale.

I had it so wrong, so absolutely wrong. It's not that at all.

But my preconceived notions stayed with me throughout the film, and they gave me a surprisingly unique perspective on the story. A story that, if anything, is a treatise on the horrifying effects of sin...and the beauty of redemption.

Elsa is a girl born with a gift--or a curse--with which she can control and create snow and ice. However, at an early age, this power is almost the death of her younger sister, Anna. Her parents' advice: Conceal, don't feel. So Elsa does. She slams the door on her sister--both figuratively and literally--and does her best to prevent the power from controlling her.

"For I know that in me...dwells no good thing. For I have the desire to do that which is good, but I cannot carry it out." -- Romans 7:18 (paraphrase)

She fails. And, terrified of what she's capable of, she flees to a snow-covered mountain and builds a beautiful palace of ice. That is where we encounter the song, "Let It Go."

That is where Elsa sings,

"Let it go, let it go, you'll never see me cry." -- Elsa

And I realized something I had suspected from the song itself: Elsa is heartbroken. She is not happy. It may be a relief to throw of the constraints, but she is not at all happy. She is alone. She has abandoned her sister, the person she cares about most in the world. She's fled her kingdom. She's let everyone down.

"My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around." -- Elsa

And that's just it, isn't it? I was right about one thing: "Let It Go" is about giving into the curse we were born under (sin). But I was wrong about so much, because "Let It Go" is not the triumphant theme song of Frozen. It is the cry of a desperate heart, isolated, wanting only to be good but failing miserably every step of the way. Maybe, thinks Elsa, if I just give in, everything will be okay.

"It's time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me
I'm free." -- Elsa

Free from rules, free from worrying what people will think. But still a slave to misery.

All of us are born under a curse. We are controlled by a power called sin, and no matter how hard we try, we can't manage it. Oh, some of us do better than others. But we're all constantly one misstep away from showing everyone just how messed up we are inside.

"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory..." -- Romans 3:23

Rage. Hate. Lust.

We try, and we try, and we try. And then we fail. People get hurt, people we love, and we're left horrified by the damage we've caused. We don't know how to fix it. We can't fix it.

So we cut those people off in an effort to keep them safe. Some of us throw up our hands and give in to this power that controls us. We say what we want, hurt whom we please, sleep with whomever catches our interest. This is who we are, we say. At least we don't have to hide any more. This is freedom.

But then our past shows up on our doorstep.

"Arrandale's in deep, deep, deep, deep snow.
You kind of set off an eternal winter--everywhere." -- Anna

"Be sure your sin will find you out." -- Numbers 32:23

Elsa has ruined everything, and she has no idea how to fix it. She thought if she ran, everything would be okay. She thought if she gave in to the storm, it wouldn't cause her so much pain.

"I'm such a fool, I can't be free
No escape from the storm inside of me
Can't control the curse." -- Elsa

No, we can't, can we? We are born under a curse we can't control, a storm that swirls inside and lashes out at the most inopportune moments. A curse that results in destruction no matter how hard we try to protect the people that we love. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try or how much we sacrifice, it is still there, hellbent on ruin. There is no escape. We can't control the curse.

"...slaves to sin..." -- Romans 6:20

And once we realize that, the question is painted in bold black letters on pristine white snow: "Is there truly no cure? Am I doomed to this life for all eternity? Is there nothing that can be done?"

continued in Part 2...

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