Monday, April 11, 2011

What Are You Worth?

I (Aimee) watched 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' for the first time last night.  I had wanted to see it really badly when it was in theatres, but with ticket prices going up all the time, I just couldn’t work it out.  So, I just finally got to watch it.  And, I enjoyed it very much (I think the first 2 are better, but it was good none the less).  In particular, I really enjoyed some of the conversations.  Aslan always says things that are so wonderful.  But He wasn't the only one.

It’s been several years since I read the books—almost a decade, actually—so I can’t speak for the book in this case, but a theme that really stood out to me in the movie was the question of self-worth.

As happens with younger siblings all the time, we (I’m a youngest) look at our older siblings and wish that we could do everything that they do and we wait longingly for the day when we are older, too.  I don’t know if there is some sort of boy-parallel, but girls go through stages of wanting to be as pretty as the older girls.  And Lucy is dealing with that in this movie.  Edmund is wanting to be older so that he can fight in the war (WWII, in case you didn’t know, it’s a period movie at the same time that it’s a fantasy movie).  He doesn’t think that anyone at home appreciates him and what he can do and that they won’t unless he’s allowed to fight.  Their cousin, Eustice, has many issues, but self-worth is definitely one of them—beginning by thinking a little too highly of himself, then feeling pitifully sorry for himself.  All three, of course, come to realize that they have value just as they are and in the end they are better people and better friends for it.

Did I just give something important away?!  Oops.  Not the first time.  Let’s move forward.

Being a girl, I related to Lucy the most (duh, right?).  I understand how she felt cause I’ve been there.  If I were just a little older (I don’t wish that one anymore, but I used to), and a little taller, and if my proportions were a little different, and … and … and … then maybe boys would like me more.  Or maybe I’d have more friends.  Or maybe I’d just be happier.  Thankfully, praise God, this was not something that plagued me often because my parents raised me to know a very important truth, one that Lucy learns in this movie: we are precious to the Lord, just the way that we are, and He created us to be us, not to be anyone else.

Easter is less than two weeks away now.  If we don’t remember it any other time of year—although I really hope that we remember it more often than that—we should remember at this time of year that God loves us so much that He sent His Son, whom He loved very much, to die on a cross to cleanse us of our sins so that we can join Him in paradise someday!

God doesn’t make mistakes.  He’s perfect.  We may not be perfect, but we are created perfectly for what we are supposed to be.  The problem, our unhappiness, comes from not understanding what it is that God created us to be.  When we figure that out, then we find joy.  When we truly remember day by day how much God loves us, and how much He loves all people, then it shapes how we live our lives.  We recognize our value and the value of others, which is definitely good news that should be shared!

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