Wonder Woman exceeded my highest expectations. As a formerly rare female fangirl, it was wonderful to finally see a woman superhero who could kick butt without existing for sexual appeal. Princess Diana's innocence at the beginning of the movie bonded us immediately. Diana does what she must: she defends, she kills, she deceives. However, she knows what she is doing is right, for she follows a moral code. Her goal is the betterment of mankind. "I used to want to save the world." Her ultimate goal never changes, but her methods do.
Diana saves the world every day by helping where she can. At some point, though, she wonders if humans deserve to be saved: "I glimpsed the darkness that lives within their light. I learned that inside every one of them, there will always be both." Christians understand this darkness as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve. Romans 3:10 even states, "As the Scriptures say, 'No one is righteous - not even one." As Christians, though, we are called to be holy as God is holy. So how do we reconcile this with the darkness we know lurks inside us?
I have a few areas of concern in my life right now, areas where I know I can do better but am failing. Sometimes this is discouraging to me, and I wonder how I can possibly be a Christian if I continually fall over and over. One thing keeps me going.
Diana saves the world every day by helping where she can. At some point, though, she wonders if humans deserve to be saved: "I glimpsed the darkness that lives within their light. I learned that inside every one of them, there will always be both." Christians understand this darkness as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve. Romans 3:10 even states, "As the Scriptures say, 'No one is righteous - not even one." As Christians, though, we are called to be holy as God is holy. So how do we reconcile this with the darkness we know lurks inside us?
I have a few areas of concern in my life right now, areas where I know I can do better but am failing. Sometimes this is discouraging to me, and I wonder how I can possibly be a Christian if I continually fall over and over. One thing keeps me going.
I am not my mistakes. I am a child of God.
God understands when I am doing the best I can. I fight the flesh, and sometimes it wins. But as long as I keep fighting, as long I do not let it overwhelm me, I am secure in my knowledge of God's grace. Even Paul had problems with this. He writes to the Corinthians, "...I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness'" (2 Cor. 12:7-9). It is not my job to achieve perfection. It is my job to be the light of the Lord even in my own darkness, to somehow use that for His glory. Meanwhile, He will be molding me into the person I am meant to be.
None of us deserve God's grace or mercy, just as mankind did not deserve Princess Diana. In fact, Isaiah saw the Lord and cried, "I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven's Armies" (Isaiah 6:5). If such a famous prophet was undone by just a glimpse of God's glory, how are any of us, small lights within darkness, supposed to measure up?
Wonder Woman asks something similar of Steve Trevor after seeing the carnage humans had wrought on each other. Steve responds, "Maybe it's not what you deserve, but what you believe." I know I do not deserve my wonderful fiancé, my forgiving family, my encouraging friends, or half the other blessings God has given me. I deserve nothing except punishment. "For the wages of sin is death..." (Rom. 6:23a). The verse doesn't stop there, though, because God has a different plan for those who will take it. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23).
As Steve said, it is not about what we deserve but what we believe or, rather, in Whom we believe. "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved" (Rom. 10:9-10). Like Diana of Themyscira, Jesus Christ came from a place of light to the dark human world with the purpose of saving it. Unlike Diana, Jesus knew what He signed up for, and He understood our depravity before He ever arrived. He still lived, loved, and died so everyone can have a second, third, seventh, millionth chance at life. Because of this, nothing is about what we deserve, thank God. It is about in Whom we believe.
None of us deserve God's grace or mercy, just as mankind did not deserve Princess Diana. In fact, Isaiah saw the Lord and cried, "I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven's Armies" (Isaiah 6:5). If such a famous prophet was undone by just a glimpse of God's glory, how are any of us, small lights within darkness, supposed to measure up?
Wonder Woman asks something similar of Steve Trevor after seeing the carnage humans had wrought on each other. Steve responds, "Maybe it's not what you deserve, but what you believe." I know I do not deserve my wonderful fiancé, my forgiving family, my encouraging friends, or half the other blessings God has given me. I deserve nothing except punishment. "For the wages of sin is death..." (Rom. 6:23a). The verse doesn't stop there, though, because God has a different plan for those who will take it. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23).
As Steve said, it is not about what we deserve but what we believe or, rather, in Whom we believe. "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved" (Rom. 10:9-10). Like Diana of Themyscira, Jesus Christ came from a place of light to the dark human world with the purpose of saving it. Unlike Diana, Jesus knew what He signed up for, and He understood our depravity before He ever arrived. He still lived, loved, and died so everyone can have a second, third, seventh, millionth chance at life. Because of this, nothing is about what we deserve, thank God. It is about in Whom we believe.