The other day the boys wanted to watch “Narnia”. As the movie began, Boy 3 said, “My favorite part is when they battle!”. Boy 1 and Boy 2 agreed wholeheartedly.
All I could do was wonder if any of my “movie genes” made it into these children. The best recommendation for a movie, in my opinion, is the absence of the three Bs: battles, blood, and bad guys.
During one of the battle scenes I asked them which character they thought they were most like.
All three boys thought they were definitely most like Peter. Not surprising, since Peter is the oldest, truest and most responsible of the two brothers. We are all supposed to want to be like Peter.
I shocked my children by admitting that I thought I was sometimes a little too much like Edmond, who is selfish and lazy and causes all sorts of trouble. But these character flaws in Edmond are what required a savior. And I told them that was the part of him I knew I was most like.
All three boys thought they were definitely most like Peter. Not surprising, since Peter is the oldest, truest and most responsible of the two brothers. We are all supposed to want to be like Peter.
I shocked my children by admitting that I thought I was sometimes a little too much like Edmond, who is selfish and lazy and causes all sorts of trouble. But these character flaws in Edmond are what required a savior. And I told them that was the part of him I knew I was most like.
Then I thought of how Jesus came and lived a life so that He could battle against evil (aka “bad guys”), shed his blood, and set me free from sin. I realized my shallow movie preferences have kept me safely shielded from processing the most important truth about life:
Evil must be overcome, and it takes great courage to do so.
The stories we open our hearts up to can carry us through the difficult seasons of life. Our children will first understand the greater truths of the gospel when they are presented in more simple stories.
We don’t face an evil queen who is trying to make winter last forever. Most of the evil we face is in our own souls, and it is slowly freezing the love we are meant to show the world. Like Edmond, our poor choices affect those around us.
Some of the evil we face is unrighteousness in our culture and cruelty from the hands of broken people. Like Edmond’s siblings, we must learn to forgive, accept the consequences of sin in another, and fight for freedom.
I will no longer shy away from movies that contain the three Bs. We need the lessons they teach to seep down into our souls so we can remember we were made to overcome.
And, if I’m being honest, I really want to be just like Lucy when I grow up….
