If you know anything about me at all, you must know that I'm a total Disney fanatic. I mean, I grew up with Disney. How could I not love it? My favorite movie is Peter Pan (just in case you were wondering). You can constantly find me quoting pretty much any Disney movie out there or singing a song from one of them. In fact, I'm pretty sure my mind associates real-life attributes to Disney movies when trying to deal with life.
Anyways, I was listening to this past week's sermon (we're studying 1 Peter) at my church and my pastor said, "Be who you are in Christ." The scene from The Lion King (in the clip above) quickly flashed over my mind. My pastor was saying that Peter calls us to be holy. Now, he's not telling us what we should be doing. He's just saying, "Be who you are in Christ," which has a completely different view of how we should be living our lives. We shouldn't be thinking that God is making us a list of do's and dont's. He isn't making us work for Himself like some employer. That is a backwards view of the Gospel. We don't have to work ourselves crazy up some mystical ladder to reach God's approval because His approval is freely given to us. I don't have to make some checklist of things to do in order for God to love me more because regardless of what I do, He still loves me. That is amazing grace, people.
Now let's take a look at the video clip. Looking back at it, I've never noticed the (whether intended or not) biblical connections throughout the scene. If you know anything about The Lion King you know that Rafiki (the baboon) told Simba that he knew where his father was. Simba had forgotten who he was. Probably not literally, but he was avoiding going back and taking his place as the true King of Pride Rock.
When Rafiki told Simba to look down into the water and he didn't see his father, Rafiki tells him to look harder. I think that Simba was struggling with his identity, much like I have. It was hard for Simba to see who he really was because he was so blinded by his own view of himself. Simba was frustrated because when he initially looked into the water, he only saw the reflection of himself. It was only when Rafiki made Simba look harder, that Simba saw his father in his reflection. Rafiki says, "You see, he lives in you..." in which Simba's eyes were opened to the truth. That's a weird concept to imagine. The Holy Spirit (who is God) lives inside of we who are Christians. Wouldn't that seem to be a bit of an incentive to make sure we live in such a way that we glorify God?
However, I think we often forget that we are a reflection of God. We are so blinded by our own identities that we shape ourselves within a cocoon of various facades to hide our inner shame and guilt. This is not how God intended us to live. We were created in his own image (Gen. 1:27)! It seems so silly that we look to wordly things for our approvals/identities, when the only one that really matters is God. Don't get me wrong. I am in no means just talking to other people. I am figuratively slapping myself in the face as I type this. This message I am writing is just as important for me to hear as anyone else.
The scene from The Lion King goes on show an image of Mufasa appearing to Simba in which Mufasa says, "You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life."
*Cue the beginning of the movie in my head.*
"Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaants ingonyama bagithi Baba!"
I don't know about you, but there are several times when I forget who I am. I'm not a perfect Christian. There isn't such a thing. But what I know is that who I am is no longer a homosexual. Who I am is a sinner saved by the grace of God. I am a Christian. I am a child of God. I should never forget that, but the truth is, at times I do. When I forget these truths for myself, I tend to forget or stray from where I should be.
Simba goes on to say, "How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be." Now I may be taking this out of context at little (Simba's situation is a bit different from mine), but when I ask myself that question, chills run through my body. Why do I go back to my futile ways? If I'm not who I used to be, then why do I? Well, again, I fall short on a daily basis. I'm flawed in my walk with Christ. But I'm so thankful to have a God who still calls me His son (much like Mufasa says to Simba) even when I forget who I am.
Thank you, Jesus (and Disney).
Dear Jesus,
You are amazing and glorious and powerful. Thank you for your grace and mercy on me. I know that if it was me in your place, I would have already given up on someone who constantly messes up. Thank you for not leaving me. Please instill in my heart a desire to grow in you more and become more like you and to just be who I am in you. I love you so much for thinking of saving me from my sin, even when I will never be worthy enough to deserve it. Thank you for changing my life.
