In the film Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope, there are two scenes which bear importance to the story, and it's only after watching all six films that you realise why the scenes are so significant.
The first scene is set in the Death Star, the Galactic Empire's Planet-sized space station. Darth Vader, a dark Lord of the Sith, and right-hand man to the Emperor, enters the mission room with his right hand man, Captain Tarkin, where full blown discussion has kicked off about the importance of the Death Star. The argument of one of Captain Tarkin's Commanding Officer's is that until the battle station is fully operational, they are vulnerable to the rebellion. The second Commanding Officer has full confidence in the Space Station and declares that the Death Star is the ultimate power in the universe. Darth Vader points out that although the Death Star has incredible power, it's ability to destroy a planet is insignificant in comparison to the power of the The Force. The second Commanding Officer replies with, 'Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader, your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up your stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the rebel's hidden fortress...' To which Darth Vader replies, 'I find your lack of faith disturbing' (whilst displaying an example of the 'power' of the force).
In a later scene, Han Solo, part of the rebel alliance is aboard his starship, along with side kick Chewbacca, robotic droids C-3PO and R2-D2, former Jedi* Master Ben Kenobi (*Jedi are beings who have incredible natural ability in the force and are trained up to use it for good), and Ben Kenobi's pupil, Luke Skywalker. Ben Kenobi and Luke Skywalker are going through training and Ben Kenobi teaches Luke, 'Remember, a jedi can feel the force flowing through him... It obeys your commands.' Luke gets hit by the remote which he's meant to deflect with his lightsaber- the jedi weapon. Han Solo sneers, saying, 'Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid...' 'You don't believe in the force do you?' Luke ponders a guess, to which Han replies, 'Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything that would make me believe that there's one all-powerful force controlling everything... There's no mystical energy field controlling my destiny.' Ben smiles, knowingly. He continues unphased and says to Luke, 'I suggest you try it again Luke. Let go of your conscious self and act on instinct.' Luke finally succeeds and deflects the shots of the remote, to which Han Solo replies, 'It's just luck.'
It's funny, but when I first discovered the reactions that Han Solo and the second Commanding Officer expressed towards to concept of The Force as I studied these two scenes, it made me want to sympathise with Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader. Phrases like: Sad devotion... ancient religion... luck. Anyone who's been through something that they have had to have faith in KNOW that it was never 'just luck'.
I mentioned earlier that when you watch the other five films you realise why Darth Vader and Ben Kenobi react in the strong ways that they do. It turns out that the time in which Ben and Vader were in their youth, was very big, very significant, very reliant upon The Force. Ben Kenobi was a warrior in the Clone Wars years ago who, among other Jedi, conquered many armies and Sith Lords. If the rebel alliance and the Empire realised the extent of that which these two aging men had done, and been through, Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader would be seen in a very different light.
Okay, so Star Wars is a fictional world, which was created by George Lucas, Rick McCallum, John Williams and Frank Oz (what a muppet), but there are some crazy examples in what I've shared that we can really apply to our lives and learn from. Today, I want to look at 'Dead Religion'. In our lives as Christians, we will go through times when people will say to us: 'Oh, how can you believe in that ancient religion?' People have said things of that nature to me before. Generally people will say these things because they follow the belief systems of their nation - they follow what is normal, to BE normal. The belief system in our nation is atheism, so you will start to become familiar with these kind of thoughts and questions. But when people ask us questions like, 'Why do you believe in that rubbish, isn't it a myth?' those of us who know Jesus will be stirred up in our minds to remember all that God has done for us and in us and how every decision that we have revolves around him in some shape or form. When people speak to me in a disbelieving fashion, in all that I've seen and NOT seen, I cannot possibly imagine living a life contrary to the one that I live right now, which is a life desiring to follow after Jesus Christ and serving my neighbours. And that's not because it's something that I've just 'always done'. I want to stress an important fact that in my personal life, at times there have been doubts and I've been pulled towards one thing and pulled towards the other, but where I am RIGHT NOW is the best possible place I could be in. I cannot imagine living my life without God, because when I am without Him it is so boring. He is my purpose for living. I cannot live without Him. I don't see living for Jesus as a duty... I see living for Jesus as a JOY. I don't see my relationship with Christ as something extra... I see my relationship with Christ as my EVERYTHING.
Let's just look at some scripture to help differentiate between who we are and who we want to be. This stuff relates to all of us guys... and in this post I really want to stress the fact that the one thing that is possible is that we can all be changed.
Jesus was a big fan of: Parables - My definition being metaphorical stories... Jesus used pictures that were unexpected, yet relevant, in order for people to better understand His teaching. They're fun! Here's an example from Matthew 13 v 24 - 30, 36 - 43: '"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. The farmer's workers went to him and said, 'Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?'
'An enemy has done this!' the farmer exclaimed.
'Should we pull out the weeds?' they asked.
'No,' he replied, [Key Verse:] 'you'll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow up together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.'...
...leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, "Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field."
Jesus replied, "The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. The enemy who planted the seeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!'
In this day and age, we all seem to be fascinated by the end of the world. I love how clear Jesus is in this passage, and how the wheat and the weeds illustrates what will happen to all that is good and all that is good. A thought that came to my mind was that the weeds are the troubles that all of us will be facing throughout our lives until that day when the weeds are destroyed and we'll be taken into heaven... unless you are a weed... If you are, there IS hope! As I said earlier, through this post, I want the one thing that is possible be that we can all be changed. These words may have been a scary discovery for you: 'The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil... And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For those of you who are concerned about this - That is a sign that you CARE about the future, which is awesome. Often what we believe about our future, how we react to the idea of our future in our present state determines how our future is going to pan out... If you invest into your future, it will be beautiful... if you don't care, then your future will be uncertain. But you can never really takes those steps towards your beautiful future without making a genuine decision to follow Jesus. This is the business - Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on a cross because He knew that mankind needed saving from all its wrongdoings and He took all the sin to give us life instead of death. Three days after Jesus' death for us, He rose from the grave - a symbol of what would happen from that point on whenever someone would decide to follow Jesus - Now we can put all the wrong doing and selfishness on the cross and rise up out of our death - our past. When we decide that, immediately we inherit eternal life with Jesus because He loves us :)
If you follow, please, pray this prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, I understand what I've been hearing. I understand that there is an end to life - Heaven or Hell. I thank you for the gift of free will. I thank you that You have given me the choice to decide for myself. I thank You that You love me - You always have. I thank You for the gift of life... now I want to do what is right. I want to follow after You, to know You in the exact way You want me to. Jesus, take my life. I lay it all down. The love that You showed me, right now I surrender myself to that same love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen!
The amazing thing is that when you surrender your heart to Jesus, You become the same as Him! So now You are righteous as Christ is righteous. If you've made this decision for God, from now on this is your future: Matthew 13 v 43: 'Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom.'
See you soon! For all those who are looking, keep searching. God Bless X
[B.T: New Living Translation.]
No comments:
Post a Comment