Diamonds and Gold

Let's quickly set up the scene from Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. The "Penguins of Madagascar" have hijacked multiple safari jeeps in order to use spare parts to fix an airplane, rendering tourists from New York stranded without transportation in the African reserve. Panicked, the tourists go on to erect a makeshift dam to hold as much drinking water from a nearby stream as possible. As a consequence, the watering hole that nourished the main characters and their newly found herd dries up completely. The picture below shows a failed effort in digging a well to see if they can find a source of groundwater. There's not a trace to be found. "Any water?" asks one character, to the reply from another, "No just more diamonds and gold."

That quote is supposed to make the viewer of the movie chuckle, but it rings with truth. Dying of thirst, and with no water in sight, what would be the most precious thing for one to find: A big plate of nachos? The Mona Lisa? A neon yellow Lambo? TWO big plates of nachos? Tempting, but it's definitely water.

A folk music group called The Kingston Trio released a parabolic song in 1963 called "Desert Pete." It's about a man who is in dire need of water while walking through a desert and suddenly comes across a water pump with a tin can and a note inside wrapped around it. "Dear traveler, do not despair. Dig below and you will find a bottle of water. You have surely by now tried to work the pump, and have seen that it was dry. Pour the water from this bottle gently around the cylinder and keep pumping. You will be very tempted to drink this bottle, but you will only become thirsty again soon. Trust me when I say there will be more, as this priming of the pump will cause suction of the ground water below. Follow the instructions and you will have all of the nourishment that you need. PS: Do not forget to refill the bottle and to bury it for the next passerby.”

This is a parable of life, as we’re all walking through a similar situation: your choice is to consume your life onto yourself and soon be empty again, or to put your hands into those of God who gives you living water of salvation so that your soul will never thirst again (John 4:13-14; John 7:37-39). When we wake up to reality and see that we without salvation are walking dead people, we see that doing anything else other than accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior would be like finding diamonds and gold (something we would otherwise have been excited about and thought was highly important) when all we desperately need to live is water. And when you find that living water, just as the desert traveler, you will become an instrument to help give that nourishment to the next passerby.

Yale philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff writes: "When we have overcome absence with phone calls, winglessness with airplanes, summer heat with air conditioning - when we have overcome all these and much more besides, then there will abide two things with which we must cope: the evil in our hearts and death." God is the solution to both. And you don't have to take my word for it. Ask Christ if He is who He claims to be; to reveal Himself to you; to save you. You will find Him, you will personally come to know Him, and you will receive the “glue” that puts life’s ultimate questions together. Without God, we all have a dreary sense of immense emptiness that cannot be quenched; no amount of diamonds and gold will suffice. Just as your physical self needs life-saving nourishment, God promises that He will give you living water so that you will never thirst in your soul ever again.

Without God, as Bobby Boucher from the movie The Waterboy once said, "You people drinkin' the wrong water."

Religion vs. Relationship

Academia, specifically Psychology, has traditionally held a negative view of religion in general. For example, Freud stated that while religion had made a significant contribution to culture in various ways, it also served the religious as a crutch in facing the harsh realities of life. Instead of dealing with problems in a rational manner, said Freud, those who hold a religious belief simply regress to childhood and long for the existence of a powerful father who unconsciously is projected into the form of a supernatural god who rescues his supplicants from tribulations of life. According to Freud, culture would advance in maturity by throwing off such irrationality and embracing science as a rational approach to solving life issues.

Freud’s critique of religion has been highly influential on Psychology. Up until the 1980s, many researchers avoided the study of religion and spirituality, as perhaps the subject seemed too ethereal, unscientific, or controversial. However, these views are quickly changing, as more and more researchers today are starting to recognize that religion can play a positive role in a person’s well-being, provide foundation in their life, and this can result in significantly better health overall.

A considerable body of research has demonstrated the link between religious beliefs and health. But in order to fully understand this link, it is important to explore the additional dimensions of religiosity: intrinsic and extrinsic. In light of Allport and Ross, those who are intrinsically motivated are genuinely committed in seeking a personal, meaningful relationship with God, while those who are extrinsically motivated use religion superficially as a means for personal gain, such as social status and social connectedness. In other words, “the extrinsically motivated person uses their religion, whereas the intrinsically motivated live their religion” (emphasis mine). Researchers are catching on that, by using Allport and Ross’ concept of intrinsic religion (IR) and extrinsic religion (ER), it mediates the apparent inconsistencies found within the literature in the association between religion and well-being.

Health comprises physical, mental, emotional, social, vocational, psychological, environmental, and spiritual components. However, systematic reviews of empirical literature indicate that religion represents understudied variables in health-related research. Health is multifaceted, and so, too, is well-being; it is seen as the outworking or reflection of the state of health. And in recent years, researchers have turned their attention to religiousness and their effects on individuals facing various stressors. There are well established findings that show an intrinsic orientation towards religion (i.e., living their religion) is associated with better health, while an extrinsic orientation (i.e., using their religion) is usually associated with poorer health.

For example, there is growing realization that the IR of end stage cancer patients and other individuals diagnosed with terminal illnesses can significantly affect their quality of life. Among patients with cancer and chronic heart failure, greater IR has been found to significantly correlate with less depression and anxiety. In studies examining the relationships among anxiety, depression, and IR in three groups of women (i.e., non-pregnancy, normal pregnancy, high-risk pregnancy on bed rest), all three of the groups demonstrated significant inverse relationships among IR with anxiety and depression. These findings emphasize the importance of developing interventions to raise women’s IR in order to improve the course of pregnancy, fetal development, and postpartum period. Research has shown that higher levels of IR are associated with lower levels of psychological distress variables such as depression, hopelessness, desire for hastened death, and suicidal ideation among severely ill patients receiving palliative care. And studies found that college students with greater levels of IR reported lower levels of suicidal ideation.

Further, a prospective study found that (ER) heart surgery patients had longer hospital stays than those with (IR). In studying cardiovascular health in older adults, those with ER were exposed to lab stressors and showed exaggerated cardiovascular reactivity relative to those with IR who were also exposed to lab stressors. Intrinsically motivated religious coping (e.g., seeking religious support, religious forgiveness, and purification) directly correlates with a better sense of well-being, improved mental and physical health, reduced mortality, lower depression, and lower anxiety. Older adults who are higher in IR were shown to be significantly lower in death anxiety. It's also been found that an IR orientation is negatively correlated with trait anxiety, while ER orientation is positively correlated. IR orientation shows great positive health outcomes that further deserve and are being researched.

Even further, research clearly shows that a protective association exists between religious beliefs and negative health outcomes among adolescents. For instance, adolescents who lack IR are much more likely to engage in at-risk behaviors such as unsafe sexual behavior, delinquency, substance abuse, and even suicide; a higher level in IR was a significant predictor of lower levels of hard drug use; and higher levels of IR have been found to positively correlate with self-esteem and negatively correlate with depression. These studies here highlight the positive influence that religion has with helping adolescents face common youthful problems, cultivating a belief that their lives have meaning and purpose. Now, this doesn't get all the way to exactly to what degree we have meaning and what exactly our purpose is, but it's a start to at least give foundational hope that those things actually exist.

It's universal that all people desire meaning and purpose in life, but they may use different bases from which to seek out these concerns. Let's look at those who don't believe in God, for instance. On the one hand, those who are more agnostic and evolution oriented have emphasized the ethical sense of duty to and cooperation with the community as a means to survival and meaningful life; they generally find value and purpose in what they believe improves the quality of life for humanity. On the other hand, those who are more theistic oriented emphasize this as well as belief in a loving Creator who imbued humanity with a divine nature that seeks out relationship to serve as a basis from which to gain a sense of self-worth, attendant purpose and meaning in life, and values that inform how life should be lived. In this latter group, many people find that their religious beliefs, traditions, and community help to frame these existential questions in a way that provides direction as well as solace and peace of mind.

Those leaning to the agnostic side of the aisle represent less than one out of every ten adults in America. And studies show that these religious skeptics are much less likely to have a clear sense of meaning and purpose in life and are even generally less interested in making a difference in the world. The Barna Group, who has conducted many such studies, for instance, finds that skeptics have increasingly replaced religious faith with a passion for healthy longevity and personal pleasure gained through world travel, sexual experiences, and obtaining knowledge. They concluded that they are substantially less focused on relationships and legacy than are others with IR, and that they tend to be less concerned about finding or pursuing a purpose in life because a majority of them believe life has no purpose beyond comfort and pleasure. Further, studies state that agnostics are less likely to feel at peace, are considerably less concerned about the moral condition of their country, and are also significantly less likely to say they are convinced they are right about things in life. The researchers in those studies, then, were able to conclude that one of the most significant differences between active-faith and no-faith Americans is the cultural disengagement and sense of independence exhibited by agnostics in many areas of life. Thus, faith in God for those with IR provide a foundation that gives life focus, a sense of direction, and so on. Are those, then, with an ER outlook on life similar to agnosticism when it comes to their overall well-being?

With that in mind, let's transition our way into a personal study I conducted. Below is a graph illustrating the results from a test I conducted with between 100 and 200 undergraduate college students in order to see what the most recent results would look like in regards to overall well-being in life -- not between agnostics and those who believe in God, but between believers who are more IR oriented (i.e., have a personal relationship with God, and generally take faith more seriously) and believers who are more ER oriented (i.e., those who admittedly have a shallow faith to the point of even using religion as a means of social gain, and generally do not take faith serious). As you can see below (taking into consideration, of course, that many who don't believe in God or simply have s shallow faith would never admit that their lives feel empty and such), those who are more IR oriented had significantly higher rates of overall well-being in life (which, as we've seen, we're finding out more and more that this also correlates directly with overall health).

There are those who use faith. Therefore, yes, Freud was correct in saying that faith is a mere crutch. But where he was dead wrong was in saying that about all religious people. For a faith that is lived-out and is held on to as tight as possible in times of good and in times of bad, it's not a temporary fix; an opium for the masses, per say. How fascinating it is to see direct evidence that a mere religion is drastically different than a relationship with God. In this sense, a relational faith is not a temporary crutch but, instead, is the very medicine that literally heals down to the marrow of our bones. And, speaking of bones, this is but the bare bones in a multitude of posts that could naturally flow. But, since my book discusses all of that information, and it's in the process of being published as I type this, let's conclude at a cliffhanger to what degree we have meaning and what exactly our universally shared purpose is in life.

Going Up?

Larry Waters lived in Los Angeles, California. Every Saturday afternoon, Larry would go outside and sit in his lawn chair to enjoy a six-pack. After a while, though, in his boring subdivision with identical house after identical house packed together like sardines, he decided he'd shake things up a bit: "I know. I'll purchase some balloons and tie them to my lawn chair so that I can harmlessly float around about 100 feet over all the houses." He would purchase forty-five weather balloons, have them filled with helium, and tie them to his chair with the help from some friends.

Of course, the way to top off any event is to have a PB&J. So Larry went into his house, made a sandwich, grabbed the six-pack and a BB-gun. His reasoning for the BB-gun: one at a time, he'd simply pop the balloons when he was finished with his shenanigan. He climbs in, gives the OK for his friends to let go of the chair, and he's off -- not 100 feet, but 11,000 feet! You can't pop balloons when you're holding on for dear life! A pilot in a DC-10 *AIRPLANE* sees him and radios in for help.

As the air traffic around him is re-routed, Larry eventually has to stay in his lawn chair, 11,000 feet in the air, for four whole hours until the helium started to fade. Upon landing, a reporter among the police, ambulance, and sizeable crowd of spectators runs up to him with a microphone. "Were you scared up there," they asked. "Yep!" "Would you ever want to go through that again," came their second question. "Nope!"

There's an obvious lesson to be learned by this very true story. It's a reminder on how the average Christian dabs with things we know we shouldn't be doing. We may say, "Oh it's probably OK to do a little this and a little that. After all, I know myself, and I only want to go in at a 100 feet." You'll be at 11,000 feet before you know it and blindsided by what just happened -- again and again and again. We're like Larry, holding onto a little BB-gun thinking we have the situation all under control. And how many times do we find ourselves holding on for dear life as we go Up?

Brave

"Fate is woven together like a cloth, so that one's destiny intertwines with many others. It's the one thing we search for, or fight to change . . .”

Brave tells the story of the protagonist, Merida, a teenage princess with flowing crimson locks who, equipped with her faithful steed Angus and her precision-shot bow, desires only to pursue her adventurous, tom-boy spirit. The deuteragonist, Elinor, Merida’s mother and Queen of the kingdom of DunBroch, is an authoritarian figure who, "above all, strives for perfection." As she is well intentioned and only wants what is best for her daughter, as a stern teacher, it is this perfection and nothing less that she seeks in Merida -- to follow her example as Queen and to adhere to the traditions of the Kingdom -- despite conflicting with the desire for free-spirited independence.

Elinor is soon pleased to hear that word has come from the allied clans of DunBroch (i.e., Dingwall, MacGuffin, and Macintosh) that they each have accepted to present suitors to compete in the Highland Games for Merida’s hand in marriage. With a public display of great reluctance from Merida, Elinor states with a questionable tone, “This is what you’ve been preparing for your whole life.” “No this is what you have been preparing me for my whole life!” Merida replies.

As their opposing personalities continue to collide as the root of the strain in their relationship, Elinor reminds Merida of an ancient kingdom very similar to that of the kingdom of DunBroch. It’s a legend about a prince who laid ruin to his kingdom by acts of pride and refusal to follow his father's wishes, warning her that failure to agree to the tradition of arranged marriage could harm DunBroch in a similar fashion. “Ancient kingdom?!” Merida replies with the disdainful snub-like attitude. obviously these story of old are but a joke in her mind. Elinor continues. “Its name long forgotten, ruled by a wise and fair king. He was much beloved. And when he grew old, he divided the kingdom among his four sons that they should be the pillars on which the peace of the land rests. But, the oldest prince wanted to rule the land for himself. He forged his own path and the kingdom fell towards chaos and ruin."

In the stables talking to Angus, practicing for what she would like to tell her mom: “Call off the gathering. Would that kill them? You're the queen. You can just tell the lords the princess is not ready for this. In fact, she might not ever be ready for this. So, that's that! Good day to you. We'll expect your declarations of war in the morning.” She has no idea how true that last sarcastic line will be. At the arrival of the three clans, the first born sons are presented and the Highland Games begin. By customs, the competition event is selected by the princess herself. Believing to have found a loophole to tradition, as she is also a firstborn of her clan, Merida shouts: “Archery!” One by one, the suitors fire their best arrows. Just when it looks like a victor has been made, Merida steps in the shake things up. “I’ll be shooting for my own hand!” The first target: a bull’s-eye. The second is the same. And with the third, she splits the suitors’ arrow to make it three-for-three. This act of arrogance humiliates the suitors, the clans as a whole and, upon arriving at the quarters within the castle, leads to a scolding from the queen: “You embarrassed them. You embarrassed me. You don’t know what you’ve done. There will be fire and sword if it's not set right!” Merida, swinging her sword around angrily states: “You were never there for me! This whole marriage is what you want! Do you ever bother to ask what I want? No! You walk around telling me what to do; what not to do; trying to make me be like you! Well, I'm not going to be like you! You’re a beast! I’ll never be like you! I’d rather die than be like you!” As she says this with a fuming disgust, with her wielded sword, Merida slices the family tapestry directly where she and her mom hold hands. Again, she has no idea how much of a reality her words will become.

She storms off on horseback from the castle and into the deep woods. With anger and teary eyes obstructing her view, she rides and rides until she comes to a place she is not yet familiar with. While exploring the land, she stumbles across a seemingly occupied cottage. Upon entering, she is greeted by a “humble woodcarver” who Merida quickly determines is a witch who might be able to help her: “You can change my fate! I’ll buy it all. Every carving and one spell. I want a spell to change my mom.” The carver goes on to question Merida’s decision, telling her a story about a prince who once also wanted a spell that would change his fate; to give him the strength of ten men. “And did he get what he was after?” Merida asks, to which the carver nods in affirmation. After a quick batch of potion is brewed, embedded with the spell is a small cake that Elinor must taste.

Upon returning to the castle, Elinor graciously greets her. As a “peace offering,” Merida presents the cake. “How do you feel about the marriage now?” Merida asks, obviously not concerned for her moms well-being. Stumbling towards the living quarters, Elinor goes to lie down. Still unshaken by her mom’s rapid loss of health, Merida has the audacity to ask once again if she has changed her mind about the marriage arrangements. Now, having fallen off the bed and onto the floor, Merida slowly walks over to Elinor. Rising up off of the floor, the bed sheets covering her body grow higher and higher. As they unravel, a large figure is unearthed. “Mom . . . you’re . . . you’re a bear!” Seemingly already over the shock, Merida points blame. “That scaffy witch game me a gammy spell! It’s not my fault.” Needless to say, she is still in denial about her decisions. They escape the castle with a diversion made by Merida’s young triplet brothers. As a reward, she says that they can help themselves to anything in the food storage chamber. And what do you think was the first item to catch their eyes? You got it: what was left of the cake.

 

Fleeing to the deep woods, Merida tries to find the cottage so they can reverse the transformation. Upon entering, the witch is gone but has left a message detailing what she forgot to say about the spell. ‘“By the second sunrise your spell will be permanent, unless you remember these words: “Fate be changed . . . Look inside . . . Mend the bond torn by pride.”’ With this knowledge, they are met with a sense of urgency. The mood has changed, now, helplessly wandering through the woods as rain pours down onto them.

They have no shelter, and no one else to go to. They simply have each other. Trying to sleep, Merida has a flashback of when she was just a toddler, sitting in her moms lap as they sing a Celtic lullaby together.

 

♪ ♫A naoidhean bhig, cluinn mo ghuth

      Mise ri d' thaobh, O mhaighdean bhàn

      Little baby, hear my voice

      I'm beside you, O maiden fair

      Ar rìbhinn òg, fàs a's faic

      Do thìr, dìleas féin

      Our young Lady, grow and see

      Your land, your own faithful land

      A ghrian a's a ghealach, stiùir sinn

      Gu uair ar cliù 's ar glòir

      Sun and moon, guide us

      To the hour of our glory and honour

      Naoidhean bhig, ar rìbhinn òg

      Maighdean uasal bhàn

      Little baby, our young Lady

      Noble maiden fair♫♪

The spell is gradually revealing its permanent effects, as Elinor goes in and out between having her own personality and that of a full-fledged bear. It’s becoming all too aware, now, that they may not have much time left to share with one another; to cherish those precious moments.

As they continue traveling deeper into the woods and seeking for a solution, they come across an abandoned wasteland that seems to have once been an impenetrable castle. Merida falls through some rubble and lands in a throne room. “Do you suppose this could be the kingdom you were telling me; the one with the princes?” Observing the room, she spots a stone tablet with figures of old. “One, two, three . . . four! The spell; it’s happened before. Strength of ten men. Fate be changed.” Just as Elinor is gradually changing, so is Merida in putting the pieces together. “Changed his fate. Oh, no. The prince became Mor’du!” The demon bear of legend, that took the leg of her dad, King Fergus, shows himself creeping up from the shadows behind Merida. With a quick leap, reaching down, Elinor pulls Merida to the surface and they narrowly escape. Now, back on familiar ground, they know that they are sharing the same experience from the “story” told time and time again. “Mend the bond torn by pride. The witch gave us the answer: the tapestry!”

Back at the castle of DunBroch, after falsely concluding that Merida’s arrogance at the Highland Games was a set-up by High King Fergus and Queen Elinor, the already ill-balanced four clans clash and are at the brink of an all-out war. To get to the living quarters and repair the tapestry, they know that they must calm the fighting to clear the room. “Shut it!” she abruptly declares. “Once there was an ancient kingdom. That kingdom fell into war, and chaos, and ruin. It’s true! I know now how one’s selfish act can turn the fate of a kingdom. Legends are lessons; they reign with truth.” She goes on to rally the clans by reminding them of how their kingdom is young, but that they've joined together to fight off common enemies and defend the land. She reminds them of their stories of precious moments in battle; to not forget how they have each other.

With a sigh of disappointment in herself, she continues: “I’ve been selfish. I tore a great rift in our kingdom. There is no one to blame but me. And I know now that I must amend my mistake, and (looking at Elinor who is hidden in the back of the room) mend our bond.”

Now that the room has cleared, Elinor and a now giggling Merida resort upstairs to tend to the tapestry. While trying to find needle and thread, Elinor has another episode and the nature of a bear takes hold of her personality. King Fergus walks in to find Elinor, temporarily in this state, attempting to attack Merida. Not having the slightest clue that it is his own wife, the king and the clans chase after Elinor into the deep woods. Merida, locked in her room for safety, shouts for her brothers to help her. Out of the shadows walk triplet bear cubs, who have successfully found the key. Merida and her newly transformed brothers quickly head out on Angus, sewing the tapestry on the way.

Just as Fergus is about to give a fatal blow with his sword to a bound Elinor, Mor’du enters the scene. As their shared mortal enemy, the clans swiftly encircle and begin to attack. But he is much too strong. Elinor, seeing that Merida is now his prime target, frees herself and kills Mor’du -- whose spirit, upon being released at death from his spell, is seen as the greedy prince of legend.

The second sunrise that the witch foretold is fast approaching. And Elinor and the boys have yet to transform back. The closer the kiss of the sun comes, the closer an awareness of change comes; awareness that nothing will ever be the same again. Merida, tears rolling down her face: “I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I did this to you . . . to us. You’ve always been there for me. You’ve never given up on me. I want you back, mommy. I love you.”

         . . .A naoidhean bhig, cluinn mo ghuth

Mise ri d' thaobh, O mhaighdean bhàn

Little baby, hear my voice

   I'm beside you, O maiden fair. . .

“Mom, you’re back! . . . You changed!”

 The queen replies in a comforting voice: “Oh, darling . . . we both have.”

She and the boys have returned. The spell is broken. And it was never about the tapestry itself. In one last act of humility, the bond that truly needed a mend was together their own.

---
---

I go through the details of this movie in order to better illustrate two Biblical concepts. The first concept: reconciliation. The entire message of the Bible can be summed up in this one word. We have paradise lost in Genesis, paradise regained in Revelation, and everything in between is the story of reconciliation between us and God. Christ came to save [insert name]. Christ’s first coming to Earth and defeating the grave has provided a way for rebellious mankind to have a personal relationship with Him; salvation comes through trusting in Him as the one and only Savior. But, with this Gospel message, we cannot fully understand what we are saved to unless we also understand what we are saved from.

Every one of us, by our free will, has done evil. And our sins must be dealt with, as God is holy and just. He cannot allow even one sin to enter into Heaven. As immensely loving as God is, His nature also demands justice. In other words, sin demands death (Romans 6:23). Now, you’re probably like most people and have a difficult time with that concept, wanting to argue that you aren’t too bad of a person. However, unless you're perfect according to God’s standard, you're a sinner. “Compared to some people I am a saint” you may say. Yes, that may seem to be true, but the standard is by God’s law and not by other people.

Have you ever told a lie? Of course you have. Have you ever stolen anything? Come on, you just said you were a liar! Have you ever committed adultery? You may not think so, but God says that if you even look lustfully at another person you have already committed adultery with them in your heart. Have you ever used Gods name in a disrespectful way? Sure you have. Have you ever murdered someone? "Never" you hopefully may say (!), but God says that if you even feel hate towards another person you are a murderer at heart. This goes to show to what degree of a holy standard God has, and just how much we all greatly fall short.

Romans 3:20 says that it is so our hearts may become powerfully convicted of the fact that we all have sinned. And it is this conviction that leads us to understand that we cannot save ourselves. In fact, Isaiah 64:6 says that "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" in Gods eyes, and by no means can we impress and buy our way to Heaven. We need a Savior!

To use an analogy inspired from author Ray Comfort of awareness vs. conviction, let’s look for a moment at civil law. Imagine if I said to you, “I have some good news. Someone has just paid a $25,000 speeding fine on your behalf!” You would probably respond with some sharp skepticism in your voice: “What are you talking about? That’s not good news; it doesn’t make sense. I don’t have a $25,000 speeding fine.” Your reaction would be quite understandable. If you do not know that you have broken the law in the first place, the good news of someone paying a fine for you will not be good news at all. In fact, it will be foolishness to you. But more than that, it would be offensive to you, because I am insinuating that you have broken the law when you don’t believe that you have. However, if I were to put it this way it may make more sense: “Today, a law enforcement officer clocked you traveling at fifty-five miles an hour in an area designated for a blind children's convention. There were ten clear warning signs indicating that the maximum speed was fifteen miles an hour, but you must have ignored them and went through at fifty-five miles an hour. What you did was extremely dangerous. The penalty is a $25,000 fine or imprisonment.” As you begin to see the seriousness of what you have done, not just the awareness that speeding is bad, but the conviction that you are guilty of it, I explain: “The law was about to take its course when someone you don’t even know stepped in and paid the fine for you." That's good news!

And that good news is exactly like what Jesus has already done for you, and for me, and for us all, because He paid the payment of the multiple serious crimes we are all guilty of. Remember the verse above from Romans 6:23 saying: “The wages of sin is death”? The remaining part of that verse reads: “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus is mankind’s solution; our greatly needed Savior. What you cannot do for yourself, Jesus has done for you! “God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God sent His only Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life on earth as a man that only He could. He never sinned; not even once. He then offered to take the punishment for all guilty sinners. He was beat until He was literally unrecognizable, and then nailed to a cross to die an excruciating death. Even though Jesus never committed a single sin, at that moment God poured out His wrath on Him like He was the worst sinner of all.

When He hung on the cross, it was like He walked up to God and said: "Here is the payment in full. Me. Punish Me instead." And just before He breathed His last breath on that cross, He said: "It is finished." It is finished, and our crimes are forever erased if only we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus as the one and only Savior.

In perhaps the most heartfelt scene in the movie, it was repentance of wrongdoing from Merida that truly brought Elinor and the boys back. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I did this to you . . . to us.” This understanding of her wrongdoing was what led her to repent. And this is precisely what God wants us to do as well. It is when we say, “I have sinned against You” that we are truly repentant. Despite the grievances we bring to God, He reaches out and saves us. Our understanding that we have sinned and cannot save ourselves is what will convict our hearts to repent . . . to seek Jesus . . . to mend our bond.

This leads us to our second concept: Fate.

"Fate is woven together like a cloth, so that one's destiny intertwines with many others. It's the one thing we search for, or fight to change . . .”

Through her many acts of pride, Merida caused a great rift throughout the entire kingdom. Let’s examine the consequences of her decision to further widen the gap in her relationship with Elinor. First, her mom was transformed and would gradually change into a potentially permanent full-fledged bear who would have no memory at all. Second, if Elinor doesn’t change back, the kingdom would be without a Queen, Merida and the boys would be without a mom, and King Fergus would be without a wife. Third, the boys themselves are also transformed into bears. Fourth, if the boys do not change back, the kingdom would be without princes, Merida would be without brothers, and Elinor and Fergus would be without sons. Fifth, the kingdom is at a great unrest and near civil war. Sixth, if the kingdom is not strong, the northern invaders could easily take over the land at the next attempt. Everyone of these consequence led from one decision. Not only is her family affected, but now it’s potentially thousands and thousands! Their destiny is all intertwined.

We, too, can either help or harm many others by the choices we make. And most of the time, it is those that we are closest to that are affected the most. Every decision is either going to lead to good consequences or bad, and there is no way to escape that fact. In other words, as author Michael Houdmann says, “You do not plant corn and expect to harvest beets.” Through the principle called "association," consequences have a way of pouring over everyone that comes into contact with us. Again, they can either be helped or harmed by the decisions we make, both privately and publicly.

In the Bible, this principle can be read in Galatians 6:7-9: “A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Just imagine the example of a married man who is addicted to pornography. This secret sin will produce guilt. And this guilt will ultimately change his personality. This gradual change in personality will lead to a gradual change in the very wiring of his brain. This change in the wiring of his brain will lead to a gradual attitude toward his wife. This change in attitude will lead her to believe that he is not attracted to her or that he doesn’t love her. This false-thinking will lead him or her, or both, to have an affair. This act will lead to a divorce. And the divorce will lead to heartache throughout both sides of the family. And we haven't even brought their children into the picture and what hurt they would experience through all of this. These consequences happened all because of one “private” sin. Public or private, it doesn’t matter; your actions are intertwined to those around you with a "Butterfly Effect."

Perhaps you are saved, but you just can't get out of your funk of feeling guilty. Well, this moment is the perfect time to stop hurting those around you. Tell the devil: "This ends today. You are not going to keep me down. Now, go burn in Hell!" Perhaps you aren’t saved. Are your actions keeping you from coming to salvation? Or, even more importantly, are you affecting those you love from coming to salvation themselves? Again, this moment is the perfect time to stop hurting those around you. If you are going, day by day, living in only the way that you want to live, let me inform you of something... SPOILER ALERT: This is not your life to live! “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The prophet Jeremiah understood this clearly when he prayed, “I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).

God does not take us home directly after we receive salvation. Instead, we are to stay on Earth and fulfill our vastly unique purpose, with our vastly unique personalities. But what exactly is this purpose? To make lots of money, to travel the world, to gain . . . stuff? No, no, and no. It is to gain salvation and, being intertwined, to help others gain salvation as well. In other words, we are to know God and make Him known. And the way in which you help others gain salvation is your unique purpose. For instance, I commit that mine is to be a writer/speaker/teacher of apologetics, and a God-fearing family man who has the heart of a child. “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet” (Frederick Buechner).

Take for instance my good friend who led me to Christ. It was a late Wednesday night, and we had just finished shredding it up on our guitars. Band practice was over and I wasn’t old enough to drive yet. So, on the ride home, he brought the subject of church up, and the conversation took off from there. Now, I believed in the God of the Bible, but I did not fully understand salvation until that point. Using his passion of music, he was able to weave the obstacle course that was my mind. If he'd not had the right frame of mind that night, chances are he probably wouldn’t have been confident enough to even bring up the matter. And think of how God must have worked in his life prior to that night. I am sure he prayed about my salvation. And I am sure he had many struggles in gaining the courage to talk to me. Perhaps he was afraid he would offend me. Maybe he thought I would just brush it all off. Whatever conflicts he was going through, he did the right thing, and I am forever thankful; literally forever. Now I know that I will spend eternity with Jesus and my family. From that one act, I was saved and have been able to help lead a number of people to Christ who hopefully have continued the chain reaction.

The urgency is upon us. There are people all around that have this deep hunger that is not being met. They may not know it but, for the reasons we have spoken of, they need Jesus as their Savior because they cannot save themselves. The kid up the street who knows that their parents need saved but doesn’t have the strength to tell them. The woman you see in a hospital room, who is desperately praying by bedside for their stubborn grandpa to accept Jesus before he dies. Or, in my case, a Vans shoe and leopard print guitar strap wearing teenager who has no clue that if he died that night he wouldn’t go to Heaven. There are countless people you come across every single day that could use you. In fact, you may be the one voice that God has planted in their life for an exact moment. Can you imagine not helping these people in their eternal situation? Can you imagine spending eternity without your family and friends? Do something about it!

We have free will, just like Adam and Eve did, to do what we want in this life. But our decisions affect others greatly. It’s the strength to do what’s right; the frame of mind to do what’s needed. We have a say. Through our purpose in Jesus, we can make a difference.

“. . . There are those who say fate is something beyond our command; that destiny is not our own. But, I know better. Our fate lives within us. You only have to be Brave enough to see it."