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This movie tells a nerdy magical tale of this elf Ian who lives at home with his mother and his older brother Barley. Apparently, Ian's father died when he was either a baby or before he was born. The movie shows that Ian has no memory of his dad but completely idolizes him and thinks of him daily. He does this by wearing his dad's old clothes and listening to recordings of his dad's voice. On Ian's sixteenth birthday his brother and him receive the gift their father leaves for them to be able to see him again. It is this magical staff that will ideally bring him back, at least for a day. The brothers of course try their hardest to make this work and despite their best efforts they are only able to bring back the legs of their father. This then launches them into an epic adventure where they try to see the rest of their father and spend some time with him.
The movie goes on from there obviously, but as I mentioned I will not be spoiling anything today so that is where I will stop. I cannot help but feel a connection to Ian in this story and his relationship to his Father. Not in the sense of my father on this earth, because he's been around and I know and have seen him, but in the sense of my heavenly father. I cannot name how many times in my life I have thought or asked if I could see Him, and in a physical sense I never have. Especially at a time like we are living in now where a lot of things do not make sense or are just very hard. Have you ever felt this way? Do you feel this way right now?
God did not give us a magical staff to remedy this problem, he instead gave us his son. In John 14 Jesus says that he is "the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me" (v. 6). Then in verse 8 Philip requests that same thing that I just admitted to feeling when he says "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus then responds and among other things in verse 9 says "Whoever has seen me has seen the father."
In the midst of trials, it is common for humans to think where is God in this? However, God did not and does not leave us without showing us the way to find him. He gave us his son and said follow Him and you will find Me, for He is the way, the truth, and the life. So, let's join our brothers (and sisters) and go on an epic adventure in pursuit of Jesus Christ. It might be a rocky road and a road that requires a lot of sacrifice, but in the end He is worthy.
Onward
04/09/2020
This past week I got the chance to check out the new Disney movie Onward. Disney took this movie out of the theaters (given there's not any operating ones) and placed it straight on their streaming service Disney+. This movie was quite enjoyable, I would certainly not call it a classic, but nevertheless I like it. I will give you a warning though, this one is pretty sad (at least for a big cry baby like me.) I will not in this blog spoil the movie whatsoever, but I do want to discuss something that I think touched me from it.This movie tells a nerdy magical tale of this elf Ian who lives at home with his mother and his older brother Barley. Apparently, Ian's father died when he was either a baby or before he was born. The movie shows that Ian has no memory of his dad but completely idolizes him and thinks of him daily. He does this by wearing his dad's old clothes and listening to recordings of his dad's voice. On Ian's sixteenth birthday his brother and him receive the gift their father leaves for them to be able to see him again. It is this magical staff that will ideally bring him back, at least for a day. The brothers of course try their hardest to make this work and despite their best efforts they are only able to bring back the legs of their father. This then launches them into an epic adventure where they try to see the rest of their father and spend some time with him.
The movie goes on from there obviously, but as I mentioned I will not be spoiling anything today so that is where I will stop. I cannot help but feel a connection to Ian in this story and his relationship to his Father. Not in the sense of my father on this earth, because he's been around and I know and have seen him, but in the sense of my heavenly father. I cannot name how many times in my life I have thought or asked if I could see Him, and in a physical sense I never have. Especially at a time like we are living in now where a lot of things do not make sense or are just very hard. Have you ever felt this way? Do you feel this way right now?
God did not give us a magical staff to remedy this problem, he instead gave us his son. In John 14 Jesus says that he is "the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me" (v. 6). Then in verse 8 Philip requests that same thing that I just admitted to feeling when he says "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus then responds and among other things in verse 9 says "Whoever has seen me has seen the father."
In the midst of trials, it is common for humans to think where is God in this? However, God did not and does not leave us without showing us the way to find him. He gave us his son and said follow Him and you will find Me, for He is the way, the truth, and the life. So, let's join our brothers (and sisters) and go on an epic adventure in pursuit of Jesus Christ. It might be a rocky road and a road that requires a lot of sacrifice, but in the end He is worthy.
--Brandyn Treat