I watched the new Wonder Woman movie the other day. I liked the series when I was younger and was bored so thought I would see what all the hype was about. The media was saying it was inspirational to young women, empowering and all that. It was a fun movie, but underlying all of the special effects and hero worship was a very strong spiritual message. Here they have this young Amazon princess wanting to train to be a warrior. She finally gets her mother to reluctantly allow her to do this and she becomes the best, the strongest. What we don't find out until later is that her Father is Zeus, the supreme god of the Greeks. So her superpowers are augmented because of that fact. Her mission is to protect humankind and she becomes very involved quite quickly when a WWII airplane with pilot Steve Trevor is shot down near their island. She knows that Ares, the god of war is at work again and must be defeated. She takes the sacred sword, the shield and the lasso of truth and sets out to save mankind.
It's a nice fairy tale. It was a fun diversion on a Saturday afternoon. But as far as being inspirational? Not so much. As far as empowering? No, I don't think so, unless you feel empowered to wear a fancy costume and jump into the air when some pretty cool music is playing. I have a hero who is so much more inspiring. He has empowered me to live a victorious life and while it may not have the cool soundtrack that Wonder Woman has, it plays a song in my spirit that refreshes me every day. His name is Jesus and He was truly God and truly man. He was not some imagined super hero with magic tricks and fancy doo-dads. He was and is the Son of God who has come to save all of mankind from an enemy so much worse than Ares.
While Diana has her shiny sword and shield, God has given us armor that prepares us for and enables us to live a triumphant life. Ephesians 6:11-17 reads, " Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. So stand firm and hold your ground, having [a]tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), and having [b]strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. Above all, lift up the [protective] [c]shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." (AMP) God has given us all we need to be able to stand against the enemy of our soul. Because the devil is a liar and a deceiver and seeks to destroy us. He whispers in our ear, pretending to be our friend, but all along leading us down a path of heartache and trouble. He is not who he pretends to be. In the movie Sir Patrick appears to be helping Diana and Steve to stop the German's evil plot. It turns out he is really Ares. After she thinks she has killed him, he says to her that he is not what she thought he was. Yeah, that about says it all. The devil is the same. Promising us things we'll enjoy and then turning that into something destructive in our life. And after he has us tricked and living a life that in the end will consume us, he tells us we are truly worthless, we are shameful, we are not loved by God. He gets us when were up and he kicks us when we are down.
Jesus has never done that. He is our Saviour, our Lord, our brother, our friend, the lover of our soul. His thoughts towards us are for our good, not for our destruction. He gave His precious life for us when we didn't deserve it. Just like in the movie when Ares tells Diana that mankind does not deserve her protection, she says, "It's not about deserve, it's about what you believe. And I believe in love." Jesus believed in love so much He chose to lay down His life for us. He laid down His life for sinners; for murderers, for thieves, for prostitutes, for those down on their luck and for losers.
In the movie Ares finally tells Diana who her real father is and then tells her that only a god can kill another god. Well, Jesus could only be killed because He allowed it to happen. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, He willingly did the will of the Father by submitting to the most heinous death, all out of love for us. He could have caused more damage that Ares ever did in the movie if He wanted to get out of what He knew He was called to. He could have commanded legions of angels to protect Him. He did none of that because He knew the Father loved us and because of that He loves us also. He knows our stuff. He understands, as Ares says in the film, "he truly knows men. They have always been and always will be weak, cruel, selfish and capable of the greatest horrors". He knew all of that and yet He chose to make that supreme sacrifice. He knows I have sinned, He knows I will sin again at some point but He died, was buried and rose again so that I could live a life that is glorious in Him and through Him. Through Him we are as Diana says, "everything you say, but so much more". We are children of the Most High God. We are a royal priesthood. We are His elect, His chosen, His workmanship. We are redeemed, set free from the law of sin and death. We are changed, transformed by the power of His love, not by some sleight of hand magic trick. And as we walk in His will and in His way we continue to be transformed into His likeness. We become a part of the body of Christ; ambassadors, witnesses, soldiers doing the good will of our Father. And through the power of His Spirit we are able to make the choice to live a life worthy of the calling. We can choose to follow in our Saviour's footsteps and be a light to this world that is so filled with darkness. We can be His hands extended and minister to those around us. We can choose the light instead of the darkness. We can choose Life over death.
At the end of the movie Diana's thoughts are these, "I used to want to save the world. To end war and bring peace to mankind. But then, I glimpsed the darkness that lives within their light. I learned that inside every one of them, there will always be both. The choice each must make for themselves - something no hero will ever defeat. I've touched the darkness that lives in between the light. Seen the worst of this world, and the best. Seen the terrible things men do to each other in the name of hatred, and the lengths they'll go to for love. Now I know. Only love can save this world. So I stay. I fight, and I give... for the world I know can be. This is my mission, now. Forever." Thank goodness we aren't relying on a superhero to save us. We have a God who delivered us. Thank goodness that although He saw then and sees now all that is in our hearts, He still chose to liberate us from the wages of sin and He ransomed us from eternal death, or separation from Him. He knew that only His love could save this world. That was His mission, and it still is. And as we follow Him, it becomes our mission also. Now if only I could have an awesome sound track to go along with that.
It's a nice fairy tale. It was a fun diversion on a Saturday afternoon. But as far as being inspirational? Not so much. As far as empowering? No, I don't think so, unless you feel empowered to wear a fancy costume and jump into the air when some pretty cool music is playing. I have a hero who is so much more inspiring. He has empowered me to live a victorious life and while it may not have the cool soundtrack that Wonder Woman has, it plays a song in my spirit that refreshes me every day. His name is Jesus and He was truly God and truly man. He was not some imagined super hero with magic tricks and fancy doo-dads. He was and is the Son of God who has come to save all of mankind from an enemy so much worse than Ares.
While Diana has her shiny sword and shield, God has given us armor that prepares us for and enables us to live a triumphant life. Ephesians 6:11-17 reads, " Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. So stand firm and hold your ground, having [a]tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), and having [b]strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. Above all, lift up the [protective] [c]shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." (AMP) God has given us all we need to be able to stand against the enemy of our soul. Because the devil is a liar and a deceiver and seeks to destroy us. He whispers in our ear, pretending to be our friend, but all along leading us down a path of heartache and trouble. He is not who he pretends to be. In the movie Sir Patrick appears to be helping Diana and Steve to stop the German's evil plot. It turns out he is really Ares. After she thinks she has killed him, he says to her that he is not what she thought he was. Yeah, that about says it all. The devil is the same. Promising us things we'll enjoy and then turning that into something destructive in our life. And after he has us tricked and living a life that in the end will consume us, he tells us we are truly worthless, we are shameful, we are not loved by God. He gets us when were up and he kicks us when we are down.
Jesus has never done that. He is our Saviour, our Lord, our brother, our friend, the lover of our soul. His thoughts towards us are for our good, not for our destruction. He gave His precious life for us when we didn't deserve it. Just like in the movie when Ares tells Diana that mankind does not deserve her protection, she says, "It's not about deserve, it's about what you believe. And I believe in love." Jesus believed in love so much He chose to lay down His life for us. He laid down His life for sinners; for murderers, for thieves, for prostitutes, for those down on their luck and for losers.
In the movie Ares finally tells Diana who her real father is and then tells her that only a god can kill another god. Well, Jesus could only be killed because He allowed it to happen. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, He willingly did the will of the Father by submitting to the most heinous death, all out of love for us. He could have caused more damage that Ares ever did in the movie if He wanted to get out of what He knew He was called to. He could have commanded legions of angels to protect Him. He did none of that because He knew the Father loved us and because of that He loves us also. He knows our stuff. He understands, as Ares says in the film, "he truly knows men. They have always been and always will be weak, cruel, selfish and capable of the greatest horrors". He knew all of that and yet He chose to make that supreme sacrifice. He knows I have sinned, He knows I will sin again at some point but He died, was buried and rose again so that I could live a life that is glorious in Him and through Him. Through Him we are as Diana says, "everything you say, but so much more". We are children of the Most High God. We are a royal priesthood. We are His elect, His chosen, His workmanship. We are redeemed, set free from the law of sin and death. We are changed, transformed by the power of His love, not by some sleight of hand magic trick. And as we walk in His will and in His way we continue to be transformed into His likeness. We become a part of the body of Christ; ambassadors, witnesses, soldiers doing the good will of our Father. And through the power of His Spirit we are able to make the choice to live a life worthy of the calling. We can choose to follow in our Saviour's footsteps and be a light to this world that is so filled with darkness. We can be His hands extended and minister to those around us. We can choose the light instead of the darkness. We can choose Life over death.
At the end of the movie Diana's thoughts are these, "I used to want to save the world. To end war and bring peace to mankind. But then, I glimpsed the darkness that lives within their light. I learned that inside every one of them, there will always be both. The choice each must make for themselves - something no hero will ever defeat. I've touched the darkness that lives in between the light. Seen the worst of this world, and the best. Seen the terrible things men do to each other in the name of hatred, and the lengths they'll go to for love. Now I know. Only love can save this world. So I stay. I fight, and I give... for the world I know can be. This is my mission, now. Forever." Thank goodness we aren't relying on a superhero to save us. We have a God who delivered us. Thank goodness that although He saw then and sees now all that is in our hearts, He still chose to liberate us from the wages of sin and He ransomed us from eternal death, or separation from Him. He knew that only His love could save this world. That was His mission, and it still is. And as we follow Him, it becomes our mission also. Now if only I could have an awesome sound track to go along with that.
