MY BLOG POSTS
Finding Jesus at the Movies
Jesus is everywhere. And I don’t just mean literally. (Although, as the second member of the Trinity, Jesus is, in fact, everywhere.) I’m speaking metaphorically.
Think of pretty much every super hero movie: There’s a problem that humanity can’t fix and so a super-human needs to swoop in and save the day. A problem – sin – that needs a hero – Jesus – to save the day – redemption. It’s not just superhero movies. Most romantic comedies have “Jesus” characters. They used to always be the guy swooping in to save a damsel in distress, but now we are seeing more guys being saved by the “super woman”. Either way, though, someone is in need of saving.
Whatever the plot, the recognition that there is a problem that needs outside help points to the innate knowledge (or natural revelation) that we all have problems that we can’t solve (sin). Even the most God-hating writer, director, and actor portray this reality regularly, while even the most depraved producers, while denying God’s existence, make boatloads of money off this fact.
Today, I was thinking of how Mary Poppins is a “Jesus” character: She comes in to ‘save’ a family whose priorities have gotten all out of whack, and to whip into shape two children who are in desperate need of loving discipline. She comes down from “on high” to enter into the home of the Banks family and live with them. She teaches the children valuable lessons, through songs and stories and adventures. She doesn’t permit laziness or whining or disrespect, but she makes the lessons so fun that the children don’t even realize they’re being taught.
She also influences the parents, whose misguided notions of what they should be doing keep them from the most important job of all – parenting these two children. In the end, the lessons are learned, the family is united, and Mary Poppins returns to her home “on high”.
Granted, this isn’t an allegory, so some of the comparisons fall short. But you get the idea, right? This basic human understanding that we are sinners in need of a savior is right there, among the lovely songs and dancing penguins.
Consider the last film you watched or the last book you read – was there a “Jesus” character? Keep your eyes peeled, and 9 times out of 10, you’ll see Him. Humanity can’t help but long for a savior. And those whose lives revolve around creating stories and dreaming up new worlds see that, whether they mean to or not.
Friends, one way we can share our faith with those we love is to point this out. Even those who don’t know anything about the biblical Jesus know instinctively that there is much in the world that is wrong. They recognize a need for salvation from those wrongs. Our job is to lovingly point out that the problem with this world is sin, and the solution is Jesus.
So go watch a movie! Look for Jesus. Then grab a cup of coffee and connect the two.
Don’t Be a Wimp
John Piper argues that “wimpy theology makes wimpy women.” We get “wimpy theology” by choosing to let others tell us who God is rather than getting to know him for ourselves through his revelation to us, the Bible. We listen to songs about God, read books about God, we hear speakers who talk about God, and that’s good enough for us. No need to wade through the actual Bible ourselves.
But wimpy theology is dangerous. It keeps us from truly understanding our purpose here on this earth. It turns us away from Truth, it opens us up to be swayed by “every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14). Wimpy theology destroys friendships, wrecks marriages. It creates self-absorbed people who train others to be as self-absorbed as they are. It is dangerous.
But it is preventable – we prevent wimpy theology by spending time in God’s word, digging into it, wrestling through the tough parts, “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). We prevent it by being like the Bereans (Acts 17) who examined the word of God to make sure what they were being taught was true. We don’t believe everything we hear. We saturate ourselves in the word of God so that when we are “squeezed,” His Truth comes out. And we cling to that Truth so that when false teachers try to deceive us, we immediately recognize their deception and we run from them.
The God of the Bible is worth knowing, He is worth serving. He is worth giving up everything to follow. But he is not for the faint of heart. And he is certainly not for the “wimpy.”
The Last First Day, Part 2
Several years ago, my friend Amy told me about a book she read that discussed how parents celebrate the “firsts”, but often miss the “lasts”. Usually it’s because we don’t know when those “lasts” will be…the last time we read a book to our child in bed, the last lost tooth, the last Band-Aid we apply.
Today, however, is a “last” that I am very aware of. Today is Ellie’s’s last “first day” of school.* I celebrated Emma’s last just two years ago, and it still seems like yesterday. And yet time doesn’t slow down. Ellie’s last first day is here far sooner than I expected.
This is the last year we’ll have a “first day” picture with multiple kids, the last year I’ll have a daughter on a high school sports team, the last time I’ll teach Ellie in
my English class, most likely the last
time I’ll direct her in a play.
And, as with Emma, I’ll only have a one year reprieve before I have my final last first day with Thomas.
These pictures are from the kids’ first day at school (in Madrid, Spain) – the first time all three were in school together. It is hard to believe I took those 12 years ago. Hard to believe we’ve been to four different schools since then, moved across the Atlantic and across the US. Hard to believe those adorable little babies are now all 
amazing teens on the brink of adulthood.
So I am, once again, celebrating this “last”. I am pausing to thank God for the years He has given me to parent my children, to buy school supplies and go to volleyball games and kiss hurts and host slumber parties. I am thankful for kids who love Jesus and love each other and bring us joy. I am thankful that, while this may be a “last”, Lord willing, there will be many, many more “firsts” to come.
*We are on a modified year-round schedule: school starts in July and ends in May.
Jesus Loves the Doubters
Naming a child is difficult – this kid has to live with his name the rest of his life! That’s a lot of pressure.
When it came time to name our son, my husband and I could not agree. I liked Philip and Lewis. He liked David, Jr. and Zachary. We kept discussing and searching and trying on variations of all kinds of names…and we just couldn’t find one we both liked.
Then one night, I was sitting in a Bible study. We were in John 20, and our teacher got to the verses that discuss the apostle Thomas’ refusal to believe Jesus had risen unless he saw Jesus in person. Our teacher noted that Thomas always gets a bad rap for this – called “Doubting Thomas” by generations of Christians.
But, she said, this story isn’t so much about Thomas as it is about Jesus. Look what Jesus did when Thomas had doubts: Jesus didn’t roll his eyes and say, “I am so fed up with Thomas! I was with him three years, I literally told him I’d die and rise again, and he still doesn’t believe me??” Jesus didn’t walk away from his doubting disciple. He didn’t punish him or yell at him or give up on him.
Jesus loved Thomas. And so, knowing his disciple’s doubts and weaknesses, he met Thomas right where he was. Jesus didn’t just show Thomas He was alive, He called Thomas forward and said, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands; reach here your hand and put it into my side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.” He met Thomas in his doubts, He loved Thomas through his doubts. And, as a result, Thomas went on to spend his life telling people the wonderful news about the risen Savior. It is believed Thomas traveled all the way to India during his lifetime, starting churches throughout that region.
I was so encouraged by that study, that I came home and told Dave we had to name our son Thomas. Ours is a gracious, loving God who meets us where we are. The story of Thomas reminds us of that. I wanted our son to be a testimony of that truth.
So, today, if you are doubting God’s goodness or His power, or His purposes in your life, know you are not alone. Know God isn’t upset with your doubting. He will meet you right where you are. He will show Himself to you. He has not forsaken you, friend!
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jer. 29:13