May the fourth - "May the Force" - get it?
 
It's May of 2020, and you're probably feeling as stir-crazy as I am, so I thought I would start with a little fun. Today is May 4th, which became known as Star Wars Day in 1979, two years after the first Star Wars film was released. The iconic greeting, "May the Force be with you," has been used in every Star Wars film from the first to the last, so it's fitting that it should be the basis of a holiday-of-sorts to celebrate the film franchise.
 
I can't say I'm a BIG Star Wars fan, but my family did visit both Disneyland and Disney World within the last year to visit their new Star Wars lands. And we subscribed to Disney+ so we could watch the new "Star Wars: the Mandalorian" series. I AM a big fan of fantasy and sci-fi stories, in general, especially those that build a new world I can step into in my imagination.
 
I recently read a quote that helps explain my love of fantasy stories:
 
“Fairy tales do not tell children dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” – G.K. Chesterton.
 
Dragons may belong to the fairy tale realm and not the real world, but the real world has more than its share of scary things that seem far too big to defeat. Stories let us face pretend dragons in a virtual world so we can imagine ourselves strong enough to face actual dangers in the real world. We need more of that bravery and heroism in our world today so we won’t fall apart in the face of a global pandemic that could be our biggest dragon yet.
 
Something else I like about fantasy stories is the reminder that a hero never wins a battle alone. Almost every hero story involves a community of people working together to defeat their enemies. That kind of community is usually required in real world battles, too. In addition, nearly every fantasy story involves something extra that makes victory possible in the end. In fairy tales, it’s magic. In Star Wars, it was the Force. It’s something you have to believe in and tap into. But it’s there, invisible to the eye until it’s called into action.
 
I hope you can relate to that something extra in your life. I hope you have discovered something bigger than yourself that works through you when you surrender your will and let it work. I hope you have found a fantastical story you can truly believe in because you can see the truth of it in your own life. I hope you are facing your dragons today with something much greater than magic, the Force, or even science, on your side.
 
“May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” – Ruth 2:12
 
“May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” – Numbers 6:24-26
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My daughter convinced me to go see Spider-Man: Far From Home for a second time. The movie was re-released in theaters last week, this time with four additional minutes of footage which had been deleted from the original movie. The additional four minutes don’t add much to the story, and I can understand why most of it was cut. But they do help us understand how much Peter Parker wanted his summer vacation plans to work out—which, of course, they didn’t.
 
This is the second time this summer that a blockbuster movie has been re-released in theaters with new scenes added in--Avengers: End Game being the first. It has raised a good deal of talk about the lengths to which movie producers will go to break box-office records and bring in the cash. It raises other questions, too, about what makes for good story-telling.
 
Each time a movie is released on DVD or re-released in theaters or on TV with previously deleted scenes added back in, people will ask why those scenes were cut in the first place or what was the point of adding them back in. In fact, the whole process of movie-making is a question of what scenes to put in and what to leave out. Decisions are made about how much information is needed and what is irrelevant, what action moves the story forward and what slows it down, what dialogue engages the audience and what leaves them feeling bored.
 
A good movie provides just the right amount of information, action, and emotion. The finished product flows effortlessly from scene to scene, drawing the audience deeper into the story until it reaches an exciting and satisfying end. We don’t see the painstaking work involved in writing the script, casting actors, shooting scenes, adding special effects, and making final edits. We will never know about the thousand difficult decisions someone made to do this, don’t do that, add this, and delete that. We just see the end result—and possibly a few minutes more of deleted scenes added back in for a re-release.
 
Unlike a book or a TV series, a movie has to do all its story-telling in a short amount of time. (The three-hour, one-minute Avengers: Endgame was pushing the limit for most people.) The decisions about what to put in and what to leave out become much more important.
 
It’s an interesting metaphor for life.
 
The Bible reminds us that human life is short. Our lives on earth are like “grass [that] withers and the flowers [that] fall” (Isaiah 40:6–8) and like a “mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Paul the Apostle tells us, “The time is short…. Do not be engrossed in the things of the world, for this world in its present form is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:29, 31 paraphrased). In other words, the story of our lives will end—and sooner than we would like to think.
 
Everyday we make decisions about what to do, what thoughts to dwell on, who to talk to, and how to fill our time. Each decision to add something into our day is a decision to leave other things out. We should remember Paul’s warning that “the time is short” and be intentional about how we spend each day.
 
That doesn’t have to be as stressful as it sounds. The good news for Christians is that each of our personal stories is part of a greater story being directed by an all-knowing, all-powerful, master story-teller. We are promised that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).
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So, use your time well today. Think intentionally about what is a good use of your time and what isn’t. Listen to the director, and trust that the amazing story he wants to tell through your life is worth all the effort.

Last week I enjoyed a two-movie weekend. Sometimes, it’s hard to choose between new releases, so (as my daughter likes to quote from a taco commercial), “por que no los dos?”

Blinded By the Light (2019) is a comedy/drama based on a true story. Javed Khan is a young adult living with his Pakistani family in a small industrial town in England in 1987. He’s been journaling and writing poems for years, and he dreams of being a writer, but his family’s traditions and financial woes make his dream seem impossible.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019) is a comedy based on a book. Bernadette Fox is a grown woman living with her husband and daughter in modern-day Seattle. She walked away from a brilliant career as an award-winning architect to raise her daughter and to hide from past disappointments, until her life starts unraveling at the seams.

It was strange seeing these two movies almost back to back. Javed and Bernadette had almost nothing in common. They differed in race, gender, nationality, age, financial security, interests, and life experience. Yet they had something very important in common. The dream Javed was looking forward to with longing was the same dream Bernadette was looking back on with regret. They both desperately, deeply wanted to create something.

Thankfully, both Javed and Bernadette found the inspiration and motivation they needed to give life to their creative dreams. Both movies end happily with the anticipation of great things to come. And if their happy endings inspire others to follow their creative dreams, that’s even better!

Now, I’m not one of those people who encourages everyone to follow their dreams. Many times, our dreams are selfish, greedy, and lazy. Achieving those dreams helps no one but ourselves. Sometimes, we wish for success in things which are far beyond our abilities, like being a best-selling author, a Broadway star, or a million-dollar athlete. Even if our ultimate plan is to benefit others with our success, the pursuit of success itself can be a selfish thing if it means we have no time for family, friends, or the needs of our communities.

But there are other types of dreams which are planted inside us like vines. They tend to stay there, even if we ignore them or try to pull them out. They long for a little sun and a little fertilizer so they can stretch and grow, putting out new shoots and producing fruit.
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Some people are born to be writers, or artists, or composers, or builders. We are called to create, because, in creating, we call attention to our own Creator.

Writers give voice to thoughts and ideas and help us understand life at a deeper level. Artists open our eyes to the beauty of the world but also its present darkness. Musicians stir our emotions, reminding us of the eternal soul within. Architects, designers, inventors, and builders push us to the edge of what is possible to see that there is still more “possible” just beyond us.
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These are gifts from God. He gives a little creative spirit to some and a great deal to others. He blesses some with great success while others are hardly noticed. We don’t get to choose the gift, and we won’t know where it will take us if we pursue it. But if that vine is wriggling and growing inside you, demanding some time in the sun—find your inspiration, find your motivation, and run after that dream. You’ll regret it if you don’t.​

Psalm 70:5 and Isaiah 6:8

​Last weekend, my family went to see the new version of Disney’s The Lion King. The movie was made as part of Disney’s campaign of remaking live versions of classic animated movies. However, this movie—starring a cast of lions, hyenas, a warthog, and a meercat—contains no live shots of animals and, apparently, only one live shot of scenery.

So what makes this version new? The original film, released in 1994, employed mostly traditional hand-drawn animation. It looks like a well-made cartoon. The 2019 remake uses very realistic computer-generated animation and “virtual-production techniques” that include filming the voice actors acting out their parts and then recreating their facial expressions on the animated animals. Much of the animation looks impressively real, as if birds are actually flying through the air, grass is actually blowing in a breeze, and lions and hyenas are actually talking to each other.

If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you can watch the trailer here.

The art of animation has come a long way since Walt Disney made his first animated short film in 1928. The word animate means “possessing or characterized by life; alive; full of life.” To animate means “to give life to.” [1]
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• The Latin word anima meaning “breath, soul” that gave us “animal” has given us other words. The English adjective animate meaning “alive” comes from the Latin verb animare, meaning “to give life to,” which in turn came from anima. A characteristic of animals is their ability to move. When a cartoon is drawn and filmed in such a way that lifelike movement is produced, it is animated. An animated film seems to have a life of its own. [2]

The Bible also equates life with breath. In Genesis 2:7, “the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” God animated humans with his own breath.

Yet, there is more than one type of life described in the Bible. Humans were given life when God formed the first humans from the dust of the ground. Yet when Jesus came, he offered a new kind of life, one that stretches into eternity: “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

Life changes with Jesus. What came before is so different, it’s as if we weren’t alive at all. It’s like the difference between a virtual-reality computer generated film and a hand-painted animated film. The computer generated film has more color, more depth, more feeling, more detail, more…life!

But just like a computer generated film is still just an imitation of real life, there is also something greater in store for us than the Jesus-filled life we lead now. When we have outgrown the physical bodies we live in now, God has something even better waiting for us.

“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

Our new lives will be even more real than anything we have experienced before. There will be more color, more depth, more feeling, more detail, more…life! It will be a life without tears or pain or death (Revelation 21:4).

Praise God today for the physical life he gave you, the new life you have in Jesus, and the amazing life you will have for eternity. What amazing gifts these are!


[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animate

[2] Id.

Lion photo by Luke Tanis on Unsplash

I was skeptical last weekend when I went with my family to see Toy Story 4. The original Toy Story was a charming movie with lots of heart, but I was disappointed in the two sequels. The odd character of Forky in commercials for number 4 didn’t inspire confidence in the new movie, but I still went. And I’m glad I did.

Toy Story 4 has all the warmth of the original movie. It also has humor and just enough excitement to keep it interesting. The original toys are all back along with a few new ones, including Forky, a “toy” made by kindergartner Molly out of pieces of trash. We also learn what happened to Bo Peep, who appeared in the first two movies but not in number 3. She is now a “lost toy” after leaving an antique store where she sat unwanted on a shelf for two years.

The theme of the movie is belonging. The toys classify each other by whether or not they “have a kid.” Those who don’t belong to someone, desperately want to—except for Forky, who takes a while to be convinced he is a toy. He thinks of himself as trash and keeps trying to get back to the trash can where he feels he belongs.

From the first Toy Story movie to the latest, we are reminded that toys are made with a purpose—to belong to a child. To bring joy and comfort to that child. And in fulfilling their purpose, the toys receive love and joy in return. A toy without a child is a toy without purpose and without love.

The Bible tells us we were also made with a purpose. We are not the result of random evolution. Each of us is the result of an intentional, loving design. We have a creator. He made us for himself, and he loves us deeply.

“God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

“For you [God] created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13-14).

Did you catch that? We are wonderful in God’s eyes—and our purpose is to love and serve him.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

We are not trash. We are not accidents. We have a purpose.

Unfortunately, sin and its consequences get between us and God. Because of sin, so many people in this world are like the lost toys in Toy Story 4—not knowing where they really belong. Jesus came to bring them back—if they will let him.
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That’s a great story to tell, isn’t it?
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The Tony Award for Best Musical was awarded on June 9 to Hadestown, a show I was fortunate enough to see in its pre-Broadway debut at the New York Theater Workshop. Hadestown is a retelling of a Greek myth about Orpheus and Eurydice, set during the Great Depression.

There are several versions of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, but the basic story is about an extremely talented musician (Orpheus) who falls in love with a beautiful girl (Eurydice) and then quickly loses her to an untimely death. Orpheus decides to visit the Underworld—the home of Hades and his wife, Persephone—to ask Hades to release Eurydice back to life on earth. Orpheus sings for Hades, and his emotional song moves Hades to grant his request—with one condition. Orpheus must travel back to the world above without ever looking behind him to see if Eurydice is following. Only when Eurydice reaches the light will she be returned to her living body—and only if Orpheus never once looks back.

While watching the musical Hadestown, it’s easy to forget that the story it’s based on is a tragedy. Yet the narrator, Hermes, tells the audience right from the start that “this is a story about a man who tries.” Orpheus tries to save Eurydice from death. He does not succeed.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of another story about a man who descended into Hell to save someone he loved. His name is Jesus. Like Orpheus, he descended into the realms of death. “He was delivered over to death for our sins” (Romans 4:25a). Also like Orpheus, he came back to the land of the living. He “was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25b). “God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:24).

The difference, of course, is that Jesus did not look back. Everyone who chooses to follow him is raised with him to a new and eternal life. “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:11). “By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also” (1 Corinthians 6:14).

This is the good news of the Bible. This is the Christian message—that Jesus died to lead us from death into life. He asks us to believe in him. He asks us to follow him. The question is, will we look back? Will we allow the pleasures of life, our insecurities, or our independence to pull us back into the darkness of a life without Jesus?

Will you be someone who only tried? Or will you follow the one who has conquered death and trust your life to him?

This new life in Jesus is one of the things even Christians disagree about. Some Christians believe in a permanent salvation, starting when one accepts Jesus as their savior. Others believe that new life begins when one accepts Jesus, but that salvation can be lost if one “looks back” and forsakes their faith. Still others believe that salvation is a life-long process (even extending after life into purgatory), involving faith, obedience, and participating in the sacraments of the church.

If you have ever wondered about these differences in Christian beliefs, you may be interested in a new book I’ve written on Christian worldviews. By clicking on the link below, you will receive a free download containing a short excerpt of the book and you will be added to a mailing list to be notified when the book is published. (I also included a few statistics about the crazy things some people believe, just for laughs.)

Click here to join the mailing list and receive your free download!​

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