I love how the Lord reveals Himself in all things.
He has been known to come in dreams in cultures where there is little to no Christian witness. He has entered bars, strip clubs, and offices to show lost people that there is something greater than day-to-day "to-do" lists and drinking worries away. There are no walls that keep Him out and no thing that He cannot use to draw people unto the truth.
As many of you know, I am anti-TV. We have never had cable and only now, for the first time in our lives, own a TV for the purpose of occasional movies. Admittedly, I used to be very critical of my mom and sister who enjoy media far more than me. The ironic thing is that while I was busy criticizing, the Lord instead chose to speak to my mom and sister through none other than the media to lead them to faith- the movie "The Passion of the Christ."
Since then, I've noticed that this scenario is not really a new one. The Lord meets people and cultures where they are at. He comes to us today just as He came 2000 years ago in human form to meet with us!
Recently, I became aware of an ABC television series that is very popular- "Once Upon a Time." Most of the time when shows/books/etc. are popular, I stay far away from them because their content is not of the light or of God, but this story intrigued me enough to buy a few episodes on Amazon and watch them for myself. What could possibly entice this TV hater to seek out these shows, you may ask? Well, believe it or not, and undoubtedly without intending to, this show speaks a lot of truth that directly relates to the reality and communication of the gospel.
For those of you that do not know the story, here is the gist. An evil queen who has a special hatred for the pure and kind Snow White curses the entire fairy tale world with a curse that takes away their happy endings, removes them from their home, and places them in our world/reality . They have no memory of their lives in fairy tale land and they no longer know who they are. Apart from the Queen, who is the mayor of Storybrooke (the city that they are cursed into), only a little boy named Henry knows the truth about what has happened. He sets out to find and convince the one person who has been prophesied to save the fairy tale characters from their fate, the child of Snow White and Prince Charming, Emma.
I have come to love this show for one reason and one reason alone. While not being a perfect representation, I see the hand of God in crafting this story into a picture of the truth. Allow me to draw some parallels for you.
Once upon a time, we were created in a world without sin. We walked with God in perfect intimacy and knew true joy. However, our mother and father ate some fruit, going against the loving command of God and now, man apart from Christ is also cursed. We have lost sight of our true identity and our true home. We are slaves to a wicked master who has captured us and robbed us of our joy and life. We wonder if this is all there is because a seed has been planted in us that reminds us that this is NOT all there is. Eternity lies before us. We need a Savior to free us from our entrapment and curse or else we will live eternally joyless, broken, tortured lives. Without our eyes being opened to our true state and our true identity, we remain slaves of our wicked master who has no care for us and only uses us to get what he wants.
One day many years ago, Satan (like the Queen) thought he had won. All men became cursed, destined to spend their lives in constant rebellion to their Creator. But just like the Queen's curse had within it one means for it to be broken, the curse that rested upon man had a means to be broken too- by the broken body of the perfect Son of Man. Emma escaped the curse (just as Jesus was perfect and escaped the curse of sin) and was therefore, the only one able to save everyone.
In the TV series, Henry finds out the truth through reading his book of fairy tales called "Once Upon a Time". Everyone else thinks the book is completely impractical, filled with folklore. We as people of this fallen world find out the truth through a book that has been accused of being filled with fairy tales- The Bible. The Bible tells us our story- our past, present, and future. It tells us of what has been and what is to come. It is a means by which we can hear the voice of the one calling us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. Despite the fact that no one believes him and everyone thinks he is crazy, Henry continues to speak truth to people in Storybrooke about their identity. He speaks so much truth that eventually the persecution and snickers turn into breakthrough. One person starts to believe. And slowly but surely, the entire town of Storybrooke remembers who they are.
If you watch this show and you don't know Jesus and the truth of the Bible, I plead with you to ask yourself why this show appeals so much to you. Do you ever ask yourself, "Is this really all there is?" Do you ever wonder who you are, what you were meant to be, or why you dream of a world free from sin, sickness, and death- a world you have yet to see?
You dream of that because that world is the world you are from. But before you can return, you need a Savior to take the curse away, restore to you what has been lost, and lead you on an adventure of serving him. This is no fairytale. This is real life.
I plead with you...
Stop living in light of this mundane reality and all its vanities. The world before us is not our home.
Open your eyes and see what you were created to be and the world you were created for.
Turn to Jesus and find freedom in this life and the next from the curse that plagues us all.
Live the adventure with Jesus. Battle evil with good in His name.
Guaranteed, the real thing is better than any show you could ever watch on TV.
He has been known to come in dreams in cultures where there is little to no Christian witness. He has entered bars, strip clubs, and offices to show lost people that there is something greater than day-to-day "to-do" lists and drinking worries away. There are no walls that keep Him out and no thing that He cannot use to draw people unto the truth.
As many of you know, I am anti-TV. We have never had cable and only now, for the first time in our lives, own a TV for the purpose of occasional movies. Admittedly, I used to be very critical of my mom and sister who enjoy media far more than me. The ironic thing is that while I was busy criticizing, the Lord instead chose to speak to my mom and sister through none other than the media to lead them to faith- the movie "The Passion of the Christ."
Since then, I've noticed that this scenario is not really a new one. The Lord meets people and cultures where they are at. He comes to us today just as He came 2000 years ago in human form to meet with us!
Recently, I became aware of an ABC television series that is very popular- "Once Upon a Time." Most of the time when shows/books/etc. are popular, I stay far away from them because their content is not of the light or of God, but this story intrigued me enough to buy a few episodes on Amazon and watch them for myself. What could possibly entice this TV hater to seek out these shows, you may ask? Well, believe it or not, and undoubtedly without intending to, this show speaks a lot of truth that directly relates to the reality and communication of the gospel.
For those of you that do not know the story, here is the gist. An evil queen who has a special hatred for the pure and kind Snow White curses the entire fairy tale world with a curse that takes away their happy endings, removes them from their home, and places them in our world/reality . They have no memory of their lives in fairy tale land and they no longer know who they are. Apart from the Queen, who is the mayor of Storybrooke (the city that they are cursed into), only a little boy named Henry knows the truth about what has happened. He sets out to find and convince the one person who has been prophesied to save the fairy tale characters from their fate, the child of Snow White and Prince Charming, Emma.
I have come to love this show for one reason and one reason alone. While not being a perfect representation, I see the hand of God in crafting this story into a picture of the truth. Allow me to draw some parallels for you.
Once upon a time, we were created in a world without sin. We walked with God in perfect intimacy and knew true joy. However, our mother and father ate some fruit, going against the loving command of God and now, man apart from Christ is also cursed. We have lost sight of our true identity and our true home. We are slaves to a wicked master who has captured us and robbed us of our joy and life. We wonder if this is all there is because a seed has been planted in us that reminds us that this is NOT all there is. Eternity lies before us. We need a Savior to free us from our entrapment and curse or else we will live eternally joyless, broken, tortured lives. Without our eyes being opened to our true state and our true identity, we remain slaves of our wicked master who has no care for us and only uses us to get what he wants.
One day many years ago, Satan (like the Queen) thought he had won. All men became cursed, destined to spend their lives in constant rebellion to their Creator. But just like the Queen's curse had within it one means for it to be broken, the curse that rested upon man had a means to be broken too- by the broken body of the perfect Son of Man. Emma escaped the curse (just as Jesus was perfect and escaped the curse of sin) and was therefore, the only one able to save everyone.
In the TV series, Henry finds out the truth through reading his book of fairy tales called "Once Upon a Time". Everyone else thinks the book is completely impractical, filled with folklore. We as people of this fallen world find out the truth through a book that has been accused of being filled with fairy tales- The Bible. The Bible tells us our story- our past, present, and future. It tells us of what has been and what is to come. It is a means by which we can hear the voice of the one calling us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. Despite the fact that no one believes him and everyone thinks he is crazy, Henry continues to speak truth to people in Storybrooke about their identity. He speaks so much truth that eventually the persecution and snickers turn into breakthrough. One person starts to believe. And slowly but surely, the entire town of Storybrooke remembers who they are.
If you watch this show and you don't know Jesus and the truth of the Bible, I plead with you to ask yourself why this show appeals so much to you. Do you ever ask yourself, "Is this really all there is?" Do you ever wonder who you are, what you were meant to be, or why you dream of a world free from sin, sickness, and death- a world you have yet to see?
You dream of that because that world is the world you are from. But before you can return, you need a Savior to take the curse away, restore to you what has been lost, and lead you on an adventure of serving him. This is no fairytale. This is real life.
I plead with you...
Stop living in light of this mundane reality and all its vanities. The world before us is not our home.
Open your eyes and see what you were created to be and the world you were created for.
Turn to Jesus and find freedom in this life and the next from the curse that plagues us all.
Live the adventure with Jesus. Battle evil with good in His name.
Guaranteed, the real thing is better than any show you could ever watch on TV.
No comments:
Post a Comment