Victory in Christ

Contemporary-Christian singer Matt Maher has a song called “Christ Has Risen”, and in it, he paraphrases 1 Corinthians 15:55, which says, 

"Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?"

These words capture an extremely important concept for Christians to understand if they want to live a Spirit-filled life. As Christians, we have been given a promise that our God will never leave us or forsake us. He has given us a Helper to fulfill that promise. The Holy Spirit is our Counselor and our Comforter. But too often, we forget Who He is. We forget that He is here to transform us. He isn’t supposed to be this static personality waiting for us to do something. No, the Holy Spirit is here to work in each one of our lives, making us more and more like Jesus every day.

We have been given victory over sin through Jesus Christ. We cannot forget that. And the Holy Spirit is the vehicle of that victory in our lives every single day. “Victory” is defined as “success in a struggle against difficulties or an obstacle.” Well, our lives are certainly full of difficulties. But we are promised success if we trust in Jesus. So, why do we worry? We are not given a spirit of fear. We don’t have any reason at all to be afraid.

I’ve always struggled with this concept. It’s human nature to fear things, and I, perhaps more than some, am scared of a lot of things. I have always had trouble letting go of this world and letting God’s Spirit guide me. But I learned something recently. As Matt Maher sings, death has no hold on us. I had never really thought about this before, but the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the grave. Do you realize what that means? The Holy Spirit conquered death. And that same spirit LIVES IN ME. And He lives in you. Do you understand how incredible that is? Death is the very biggest weapon in Satan’s arsenal, and it’s completely powerless against our God. The Holy Spirit is God in us. Against the Holy Spirit, Satan can do nothing. He can’t conquer us as long as we hold onto Jesus. Nothing Satan can say or do is powerful enough to defeat God Almighty, Who is on our side. So why are we scared?

Nothing Satan can devise for us is bigger than God’s strength. I know that there are difficult days. Believe me, I am not belittling daily struggles. But none of those struggles can compare with the power of God, which rests inside of you. God wants to work in us. He wants to give us His strength. We need to learn that God, and thus the Holy Spirit, is bigger than anything we will ever face. And the reward waiting for us is bigger than anything in this world. So, when the days get hard, when relationships fall apart, when you start to wonder if your Christianity is worth it, fall on your knees and worship the God Whose strength is always enough. And remember that His Love will never leave you.

Les Mis

Stunning. Terrifying. Beautiful. Depressing. Exhilarating. Magnificent. Crushing. Soaring. Huge. Emotional. Les Mis is all these things.

This past Friday, I watched the new Les Misérables for the first time. I have never read the book, and I have never seen a full performance of any other version. I did listen to it as an audiobook when I was young, but I didn’t really understand it or remember much of it. Thus, the story was mostly new to me. And I cried. My goodness, did I cry!

Girls have this weird thing where they subject themselves to sad things just so they can cry. I’m not sure why we do that necessarily, but a good cry is remarkably therapeutic. Thus, sad movies and music can be helpful in the long run, though they should be approached with a degree of caution.

Anyway, that’s a bit off topic. Back to the point. Les Mis was incredible! It’s a long movie, at 2 hours and 38 minutes. The first quarter/third/half or so (It’s a good chunk, okay? ) is less interesting than the last half, but that’s mostly because the second half is the culmination of everything that the first half sets up. Did they spend a lot of time setting the story’s conflict up? Yes. Was it too much? I’m not sure. I think it came really close to being too much, but it’s okay. And if it had been hurried, the emotional impact of the latter half wouldn’t have been as great. So yes, it is long. But its length contributes to the story’s depth in many ways.

The first huge surprise for me was that the characters sing nearly every line. I knew it was a musical, but when I think musical, I think of prominent musical numbers scattered through the whole thing. I expected a lot of songs, but I also thought there would be plain dialogue. There is some, but it is exceptionally brief. So that was jarring. From the beginning of the movie, you are immersed in song. But I adjusted to it eventually, and then the story really gripped me. I was captivated by the tale of this prisoner, Jean Valjean, kept in prison for nineteen years because of a petty offense and haunted by a policeman, Inspect Javert, whose attention to duty is frightening, to say the least. There seems to be no mercy in the man.

Valjean was played brilliantly by Hugh Jackman, the star of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, as well as Australia. Before seeing the movie, I was thinking how odd it would be to see Wolverine as a somewhat haunted Frenchman. But Jackman played him to perfection. You don’t think of Wolverine at all; Jackman is completely different as Valjean. His fear of Javert, his love for his charge, Cosette, and his emotional journey from hate to forgiveness are well captured by Jackman’s performance. Javert was played by Russell Crowe [Gladiator, Robin Hood ]. In a special feature interview, Russell Crowe said he wanted to draw out some of Javert’s emotional turmoil. I think he did that, to a point. He plays the unrelenting Inspector extremely well, and then, towards the end, his moral confusion is captured pretty well.

Anne Hathaway, the star of such favorites as The Princess Diaries and Get Smart, plays Fantine, and she pours a great deal of raw emotion into her performance. She is vulnerable and beaten down by life, but she has an inner flame in her love for her daughter, Cosette, who is played by Amanda Seyfried, previously in Mamma Mia and Letters to Juliet. Her voice is heavenly. Eddie Redmayne plays Marius with passion and breathlessness and a youth befitting his character. He also has a fantastic voice. The only problem I had with his performance was that, at times, you expect more from his facial expressions than he gives. But you don’t know how hard it is for me to criticize that; he was fantastic. Eponine was played in haunting fashion by Samantha Barks. She gave life to a character so young and so tired, so hopeful and yet so trodden down, and she played it to perfection. Her voice was really special, in my personal opinion. “Little Bit of Rain” is one of the most beautiful pieces in the entire film.

The supporting characters are all fantastic as well. The “Barricade Boys” are something special, and Aaron Tveit plays Enjolras magnificently. The sets of the movie are huge and really neat. The ships at the very beginning almost blew my mind, and the barricade is awesome! Each scene is crafted with special care, and they build to a mindbogglingly emotional crescendo. I cried through most of Fantine’s scenes, and after Eponine sings “On My Own”, my tears pretty much just escalated until the end. Then said tears had to gradually wind down during the credits. I’m really not exaggerating when I say I cried through almost the entire last half. I think I cried through “On My Own”; I know I cried through “Bring Him Home”, “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”, and the end song. And the barricade scene? Ugh, the tears wouldn’t stop.

In some ways, I was surprised to cry so much. I mean, yes, it is an exceptionally sad story. But once I started crying, I continued to cry through happy and sad moments alike. You’d think I’d calm down emotionally during the happy moments. Nope, not really. I think I’ve figured out why it’s such an emotional movie, though. It’s an emotional story to begin with, but it’s connected entirely by music. It’s a well-known fact that music is tied to emotions. So, taking moments that are emotional on their own and then making them flow one into another with music is pretty much a recipe for tears. Thus, be prepared to cry. A lot.

Normally, I wouldn’t think such a sad movie could be so magnificent, but it is. Listening to the soundtrack now, I cry again. But I can still say it’s a great movie. Why? Because its themes are beautiful. Les Mis teaches you that beauty can come from ashes. It tells you that love endures, that some things are worth dying for, and that forgiveness can change your life. That is why I now love Les Mis. The songs are special and the actors are great. But in the end, it’s the themes that make it incredible. The themes are the reason this story has lasted and why it now continues to make an impact. 

So, if you don’t hate musicals and you are up to an emotional few hours, I would definitely suggest trying out the new Les Misérables. You may find yourself feeling more rewarded than you ever would have expected.

Wait, How Does It End?

I’ve been reflecting on alternate endings lately. You know, where directors include one or more different endings to a movie in the Blu-Ray or DVD pack. Now, to be fair, I have never actually seen an alternate ending for a movie. Nonetheless, the concept doesn’t make intuitive sense to me. The point is to provide extra material for the viewer. I understand that, and as a lover of movies, I even appreciate it to some degree. Special features can be a lot of fun.

However, as a writer, the whole idea of alternate endings is really wrong. The alternate ending should be entertaining, make sense, and feel like a real ending. But it can’t be better than the real ending. After all, we would then feel cheated, right? A story’s ending should be the best that it can possibly be. Therefore, alternate endings shouldn’t be able to measure up to the real thing, and they would therefore be rather pointless. If they are good, they breed discontent with the actual movie; if they’re not good, they’re each a waste of time that leaves you feeling unsatisfied.

So, in my opinion, alternate endings are yet another marketing gimmick that serve absolutely no truly helpful purpose. 

The Story of Heroes

I’m not going to lie. I’m a pretty big fan of Marvel movies. I’ve never read the comics, because I’m not really a comic book person (except for Calvin and Hobbes, but that’s another story). But I love most of the movies. I got The Avengers for Christmas, and I was watching it a few days ago for the second time. To be perfectly honest, I was a little disappointed the first time around; it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Nonetheless, once I got over that initial disappointment, I did like the movie.  Now I enjoy it fully when I view it. 

Anyway, while watching The Avengers, I started thinking about heroes. Captain America is by far my favorite Avenger, but everyone else more or less ties for second, mostly because I can’t decide whether I like Thor, Dr. Banner, or Hawkeye better. I like Black Widow and Iron Man too; like I said, they all come in around second. But they are all very different kinds of heroes. Iron Man is cocky, brilliant, and relatively self-serving. Of course, in The Avengers, he does learn a lesson in self-sacrifice, so that helps. Nonetheless, he’s not particularly noble. Hawkeye and Black Widow are very gritty, somewhat tormented people who are trying to make up for bad things they’ve done by being heroic. Bruce Banner is a very quiet, unassuming guy, always a little angry, who is desperate to keep his life from falling apart again. He’s only heroic because he has to be; it’s not a life he would willingly choose.

Thor and Captain America are much closer to the idea of classic heroes. They have an inner nobility that is missing in the other Avengers. They have distinct moral compasses. Thor, of course, is from a different world. Asgard has different standards than those on Earth; he lives by a different code. Nonetheless, it is a high code of honor similar to that of Steve Rogers, Captain America. Steve’s is just more American. Thus, there’s a very clear reason I like Captain America best. He’s far and away the best role model. And he’s both sympathetic and likeable.

We have so many different definitions of heroes in this country, and our stories reflect that. The Avengers portrays it quite well, with its ensemble cast of very different people. But there was a time when a hero had a very distinct role to play. He wasn’t a person always torn between heroism and falling into an abyss. He didn’t see things in shades of gray. There was a right and a wrong answer, and, once upon a time, our heroes always chose the right path. It wasn’t a question of what he should do; he had a very distinct moral compass, much like Captain America and Thor do.

I read an article a few weeks ago that looked ahead to the expected blockbusters of 2013. Man of Steel, coming out on June 14, was on the list, and the reviewer was saying he thinks America is ready for a traditional hero again. Man of Steel is, of course, a retelling of the story of Superman. Now, to be clear, I have never seen any of the Superman movies or read the comics, so I’m not an expert. But as far as I can tell, Superman was one of those heroes that I was talking about: strong, with an undeniable belief in right and wrong and the ability to choose the higher path. This reviewer’s statement about heroes got me thinking.

Why are superhero movies such a success in this country? Why do we fall in love with them? Why do they make us feel bigger than we do on our own? It has to be because of more than just the special effects and cool powers. Sure, there are those who come just for the huge scale of the movies. But for the majority of us, I have to think that it’s the heart of superheroes that captivates us. We are fascinated by a man or woman’s choice to give up pieces of their own lives to protect those who do not have the powers they possess. We’re impressed by this concept of heroism.

I believe that there are two reasons for this and thus two directions our fascination with heroes can go. On the one hand, we are beings made to worship God. There is a part of us that looks for something higher and more majestic than ourselves. And when we don’t want to acknowledge that God is the rightful receiver of that awe, we will, consciously or not, lavish it upon something or someone else. We have an undeniable desire to worship. You can try to spin it all you want, but that fact remains. Without pouring your worship upon God, you will inevitably devote it elsewhere. The superhero genre highlights characters who are bigger, and on occasion better, than we can ever hope to be. Thus, in some cases, that awe we are meant to feel is transferred to those heroes.

I want to be very clear here. I am not insinuating that superhero movies are bad or that being impressed by superheroes is wrong. Please do no misunderstand me. All I’m saying is that we have to keep things in perspective. Without giving God the worship we are designed to give, we run the risk of worshipping something else. For some people, this “worship” may very well be directed towards heroes. The Greeks had that problem. They fawned over and worshipped Hercules and a myriad of other heroes. Don’t let that be you.

There is another side to our love of heroes, however. The best heroes represent the highest abilities of Mankind. Human beings want to know that they can be better. We want to know that we can somehow rise above our pettiness and our dirtiness. We want to believe that there is something more out there than the evil we see played out in the news every night. Heroes give us an outlet for this belief. They show us that we can be better. They tell us that we can be brave, that we can help others, and that we can make a difference. They inspire us to push farther, work harder, and daily be the best we can be. Heroes give us hope.

This is why I love Captain America. He represents everything good about us. He holds the hopes and dreams of a nation that has passed away, and he knows the pain of losing everyone he ever knew and loved. He has gone through more than many of us could ever bear, and yet, he continues to fight. He keeps getting up, no matter how many times he is knocked down. And this has nothing to do with the super-soldier serum. That is who Steve Rogers was before he ever got into the Army. What makes Captain America great isn’t his physical prowess. It’s not his amazing shield or his ability to essentially regenerate. Instead, the reason Captain America is amazing is because in  his heart, he is the best of us. He is a role model of the highest order; in my mind, he is the best hero in The Avengers.

Now, I won’t go on about how much I love Captain America any longer. And I promise I won’t bash you if you like another Avenger better. Cap is just my best and most current example for my topic. Heroes can be both a very bad and a very good thing for us. If we are not careful, they can steal away the devotion in us that is meant for God. But they can also inspire us, lift us out of the mire, get our focus off the bad and onto the good, and teach us to be better. It is for this reason that we should remember our heroes, even those on the silver screen.

Valentine’s Day, hmm?

So, it’s February 13, 2013. Tomorrow is the famous Valentine’s Day, synonymous with romance, chocolate, flowers, and dates. I’ve always enjoyed Valentine’s Day. Throughout the years, my dad has brought Sweetheart candies and sometimes cards home for us. He picks the sweetest cards. Unfortunately, Sweethearts have gotten less delicious over the years, and the messages are less meaningful today, in my opinion. I remember “I love you” and “Marry me.” Yet these days I find myself staring at “Call me” and “U” something or other. Most of the fun of Sweethearts is gone for me because of gradual degradation of quality.

In the same way, I’m disappointed by the commercialization and misunderstanding of love. Valentine’s Day is marketed for romance, not love. Nothing that people put out as marketing gimmicks around this time of year reflect true love. Chocolates and flowers, though wonderful, bring romance, not love. I think we’ve lost sight of what love is in this country. Love is sacrificial and patient and thinks of others first. True love follows the example of Jesus. Anything else is just a cheap imitation.

This doesn’t mean romance is bad. It just shouldn’t take the place of love in a relationship. That being said, I don’t have a date tomorrow. As much as I would love to, that’s just not what’s in my future right now. God has other ideas. And He does know best; I can count on that. Instead of dwelling on my singleness (which is actually a gift in many ways!), however, I’m going out for coffee with a few friends. We’re going to make it a girls’ day out, and I’m sure it will be a blast.

I’ve decided that moaning about what I don’t have won’t benefit me in any way. It hinders me from being the person God wants me to be. I have found that being dissatisfied with the place God has me in only brings pain and blocks me from the joy I could be experiencing. I am in a specific stage of life right now, and I should be focusing on how I can bring glory to my Father in Heaven where I am. That’s certainly not an easy lesson, and I unfortunately can’t say I’ve mastered it. But I think I’m getting better. So, no, I probably won’t be experiencing romance and gushy feelings tomorrow with half of the nation. But you know what? That’s okay. I don’t need a guy to make my life complete. I have Jesus, Who cares about me infinitely more than anyone else ever could. I just have to rest in His arms and know that He’ll always bring about the very best for me.

My Attempt at Poetry…

Well, obviously I continue to fail at my once-a-week posting goal. I’m sorry, I really am. But here’s something for you. I’m not much of a poet; in fact, I usually completely stink at poetry. My rhyming poems in particular come out rather cheesy sounding usually. But every now and then I write a poem I like. This is one I wrote last year, and I realize it’s nothing miraculous, but I did like it. I hope you do too.

Simple Things

Learn

Because the world is full of lessons.

Share

The Wisdom that you gain.

Laugh

At things that bring you joy.

Sing

Even in the rain.

Love

And fill your heart with blessings.

Serve

As Jesus taught us to.

Live

Like you will die tomorrow.

See

What God has given you.

Our Country’s Crisis

The shooting rampage in Newtown, Connecticut one week ago, on Friday, December 14, 2012, rocked my world. It was supposed to be a good day. My dad stayed home to work on a plumbing issue, and I was excited to see the day’s possibilities unfold. I never imaged how awful those possibilities might end up being. I came up that morning to see coverage of a news story I had seen before. It seemed like such a normal day. Seconds later, they switched to some of the initial reports of the shooting, and my world came crashing down.

I didn’t plan to spend my day hovering in this weird zone between pain, listening to and watching the news; and focus, working on my schoolwork. But that’s what happened. I needed to know what was happening, even though each new report brought tears to my eyes. I think that without my schoolwork to pour my energy into, I would have completely lost control of my emotions. I was so sad. The news reports just kept getting worse. And when the final numbers came in, we as a nation reeled to discover twenty-six people had been murdered.

The death of every single one of those six courageous adults and twenty precious children is a tragedy. Each life, so full of potential, of hopes and dreams, was snuffed out in a horrific act that we all struggle to comprehend. And as a nation we grieve with the families who have lost so much and the community that may never be the same. But the fact that our government and the media are using this tragedy as a tool to further their agenda sickens me. A grieving town is no place for the President to talk about his liberal ideas, and this story should certainly not be used by the news networks to draw conclusions supporting those same ideas. But that’s what is happening. As life marches on, the media says this act has ignited a national conversation. Interesting that this “conversation” so nicely dovetails with the liberal focus.

What do they want to talk about? More gun control! In light of the fact that a man just killed twenty-six innocent people, many legislators want to impose stricter laws upon the sale and use of guns. But has it occurred to any of them what might have happened had one of those teachers been carrying a gun? Instead of mourning the loss of so many young lives, we could have been honoring a tremendous hero. Maybe, just maybe, no one at that school would have gotten hurt, and life in Newtown could continue as normal.

However, it can’t. No one was carrying a gun there. They had nothing to fight back with that could match the killer's weapons. But how can we think that making it harder for honest citizens to get ahold of and to carry guns will somehow stop criminals from doing the same thing? Explain to me how making things illegal has stopped drug violence, sexual assault, or human trafficking. All these things are huge problems and they’re all illegal. It’s a simple fact that  criminals do not respect laws. That’s why they’re criminals. So if we think our laws are going to protect us from gun violence, we might want to think again.

There’s more to the gun issue, though. The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, part of our almost sacred Bill of Rights, says very clearly, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”* “Infringe”, according to dictionary.com, means, “to encroach or trespass.” And Webster’s 1828 dictionary says that infringement is an “act of violating; breach; violation; non-fulfillment.” Our government has a duty to protect our right to bear arms. That means we’re allowed to carry and use our guns, and the government should be protecting that right, not scheming on how to get rid of it. Quite simply, trying to restrict our use of guns is a huge infringement on a mandatory right guaranteed by our Constitution.

The Founding Fathers and patriots of our early days had strong views on guns and our right and need to possess them. After all, they were the ones who created the Second Amendment in the first place! Thomas Paine, the famous author of Common Sense, a pamphlet that helped launch the American Revolution, said this in an article that appeared in the Pennsylvania Magazine in 1775:

“The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms , for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation[or person, in our example] refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves.”**

I realize that was long, and no one said that the Founding Fathers are always the easiest to understand. But Thomas Paine makes a very important point here. It’s when we are silent and seem weak that bad men seek to harm us. The person who is well-armed and makes no secret of the fact that he or she will use the weapon makes a criminal think twice before attacking. As I read this quote, I couldn’t help but think of the fact that so many of these tragic shootings occurred in “gun-free zones.” I find it interesting that since the implementation of the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994, some of the most tragic shootings in history have occurred. Columbine in 1999, Virginia Tech in 2007, and now Sandy Hook. We have to realize that the weak are prime targets for the powerful, and without weapons in our possession, we are exceptionally weak.

Liberals don’t want to listen to the Founders’ words, though. The liberal agenda is all about getting away from those words and the people who said them. So we really shouldn’t be surprised at this attack on the Second Amendment by the man who said he wanted to “fundamentally change America.” Our fundamentals are the very things our Founders fought for. But our President and the modern progressives, despite their constant references to the American Dream and American ideals, are engineering a complete shift from our Founding principles, including the Constitution.

There is another element that the media has been throwing out there since the shootings, and this is the issue of mental health. It is indeed true that mental illnesses are a problem in America. It is also true that many perpetrators of these horrific crimes are mentally unstable. But I have my doubts about any of the proposed fixes. Medication, to me, is overused and not helpful enough. Yes, there are people who benefit from medicines that target their mental disorders, but there are many others whose conditions are not helped or are even worsened by the dozens of medications prescribed for them.

The problem comes from the fact that we’re trying to treat a symptom, not the root cause. Both violence and mental issues are symptoms of a much larger problem we have in our country. We are turning farther and farther away from God. In the end, we can talk about as many solutions as we want, but God is the only answer that will fix the problem. Our country was built on the principles of God, family, and freedom. Our problem today is that we want freedom without God or family. The strength of family is traditional marriage, which was instituted by God. In 1950, for every four couples who got married, one couple got divorced.*** By 1990, one couple divorced for every two couples who got married.**** The divorce rate has doubled in the last half-century. We have a growing number of people living together before marriage, teenage girls getting pregnant, and babies being aborted. And we think this is okay?! This is not the way God intended us to live our lives.

I think there are many causes of the mental health issues we have in this country. I believe that our health choices play a part, as do our societal standards. But more than anything else, I truly believe that the breakdown of the family and replacement of God directly lead to the problems we see today. Just think about the thousands of children who grow up without a father in the home or without God in their lives. Today we are reaping the results of a generation that deliberately chose to turn away from God and embrace life without Him.

So, yes, we have a huge crisis in our country. But it’s not a crisis that needs gun control to fix. It’s not even a crisis that requires more mental health treatment. Instead, we face a crisis of morality that will only be fixed when we return to God and to family. So, as I pray for the families who lost their children and teachers last weekend, I also pray that God would awaken the hearts of Americans and that we would return to the principles that made us great.

*http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
**http://library.mises.org/books/Thomas%20Paine/The%20Complete%20Writings%20of%20Thomas%20Paine,%20Volume%202.pdf – note: this is a large pdf and will take some time to download. If you want to visit the site where it is found instead, here is the link: https://mises.org/document/3515/The-Complete-Writings-of-Thomas-Paine-Volume-2
***http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/VSUS_1950_2.pdf
****http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/births_deaths_marriages_divorces/marriages_and_divorces.html