“He couldn’t know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: ‘To Harry Potter-- the boy who lived!’” -Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Well, the people certainly are not meeting in secret anymore, but today people all over the world are raising their glasses to Ms. J.K. Rowling and her universally beloved character. The boy who lived has lived in literature accessible to the public for twenty years, and there can be no argument he has made a significant impact on the world, both in fiction and in reality.
Many of you who know me have heard my endless commentary on how much I love Rowling’s wizarding world. For one thing, some critical points and characters in the Harry Potter story gave me new perspective regarding myself. Moreover, the books are thickly interwoven with the message of the gospel, with countless instances of sacrificial love, life from death, and redemption.
But the thing I love most about Harry Potter is not any of these qualities--though I do find all of them valuable and they increase my love of the works exponentially. The thing I love most about Harry Potter is Rowling herself: how she dreamed it all up in the most ordinary moment, how she subtly and quietly used her art to convey what mattered to her, and how she has humbly watched as people have attempted to pick apart her work from every direction, fully assured in the fact that her art is beautiful, that it is profound, and that it matters.
Rowling’s art does matter. All art matters. Literature, visual art, film, and music are just a few small but powerful ways of expressing ideas and themes that could not otherwise be expressed. Sometimes, simple words fail. Sometimes, pictures make all the difference in understanding. Sometimes, a song comes on the radio, and just a few short minutes later the listener is a different person than they were before. Art changes people, and good art changes people for the better.
So today, while we celebrate the triumph of Harry Potter, let’s also celebrate the triumph of J.K. Rowling: who would stop at nothing to make good art, and who, as a result, has changed millions of people for the better.
Ms. Rowling, if I never experience a fraction of the success you have known, I hope I can still be just like you someday in that I can stand proudly behind the art I have made and know that someone somewhere is better, happier, and overall changed because of it.
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” -Colossians 3:17
Monday, June 26, 2017
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Look and Live
I recently graduated high school, and I was honored to deliver the valedictory address. I thought and prayed for a long time about what I wanted to say to my fellow classmates and to everyone else in the audience that night, and I felt led to say everything I said that night. One point has particularly resonated with me even post graduation, and I wanted to share it with all of you. The following is an excerpt from my speech:
“The point I am trying to make here is that we as a class have experienced some incredible moments. In the musical “Into the Woods,” a character experiences a great moment and then, in a moment of reflection, says something incredible. “Oh, if life were made of moments, even now and then a bad one… but if life were made of moments, then you’d never know you’d had one.” To de-rhyme and dig deeper into Sondheim’s lyrical brilliance, think for a moment about what this character is saying. If all we ever experience is a peak, it will start to feel more like a plateau, and we may stop appreciating those precious times when everything works out better than you dreamed it could and you walk away feeling like you really were, for only a moment, on top of the world. Life is not, nor can it be, made of these moments. Instead, these moments are made of life. So, I propose that we have not experienced great moments, but we are experiencing great life. And if that is the case, it does not end after high school. In fact, the end of high school is where the rest of this great life begins.
C.S. Lewis once wrote, “There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.” It is my interpretation that he meant this quote on two levels. First, Lewis was making the same point Sondheim was making, in a sense. Life is not a series of great moments with a few bad ones interspersed. Life is a constant journey, and every journey has a destination. Some people say, “Not all who wander are lost,” and maybe that has some truth in it. But in reality, people who wander usually are not looking ahead; they are usually looking at the ground directly in front of them. So, here’s some of that life-changing advice: Look up. Look up at the world you’re passing by and see the beauty in it. Look up and see the past, remember it, learn from it, but don’t dwell in it. Look up and see the future, more bright and promising than we can even imagine. And finally, look up and see what Lewis really meant. The Things ahead with a capital T. See, Lewis experienced his share of hardship. He saw war, death, and heartbreak many times in his life. So when he wrote this quote, he did not necessarily mean he expected life to improve immediately. The things ahead Lewis is referring to are not things of this world. Lewis believed that at the end of his life journey, he had one final destination: the kingdom of heaven. Some of you do not believe this is your destination or anyone’s destination, and I do not stand before you to tell you to change that. But if you take nothing else from what I have said to you tonight, take this: that whether we gather to celebrate life’s great moments or to mourn life’s heartbreaking twists and turns, I have found no joy that is greater and no hope that is stronger than that joy and hope which is found in Christ. As we take the plunge into the rest of our lives, I want to encourage you all to remember that and to hold onto it in good times and bad.”
These points seemed important for me to make because culture sends such mixed messages about how we should live our lives. We are told we should live life to the fullest because it is short, and we have extreme limits on the time we have to find the meaning of it. At the same time, we are told to guard ourselves and protect ourselves, because life is too short to live it in pain. In my speech, in this post, and in general, I disagree with both of these life perspectives. Life is short because we should not need that much time to find the meaning in it: God has revealed of himself all we could possibly need to be drawn to him, to know him, and to experience his overwhelming sufficiency. Life is painful because too many people are so busy trying to find meaning they hurt others and themselves in the process. Life is short, and we fear it because what happens next is unfamiliar and we cannot fully understand it. Life is painful, and we fear it because we focus more on the fear of pain than the joy that lies just on the other side. Life is short. Life is painful. And in the time it takes to comprehend the balance between the lack of time and the surplus of suffering, life passes by.
I shared the points from my speech with my fellow classmates and with you now because, though I know my published contemplations cannot possibly answer your questions and erase your fears, I hope they can encourage you to set those questions and fears aside, and simply live. Go out and experience the things that scare you. Do it with no fear of failure; failure is an inevitable step on the path to success. Do it without looking back; why look where you cannot go? Look instead at where you are going. Fix your eyes on God and on all that he has set before you, from your next breath to your last breath, and every moment after. If you seek purpose, seek His. If you seek protection from pain, seek His. Never seek elsewhere, and never stop seeking.
Life truly is short. So acknowledge the time constraints, know your purpose, and live fully in that purpose.
Life truly is painful, but in the words of The Lumineers, “It’s better to feel pain than nothing at all. The opposite of love is indifference.” Our God’s love is deep and can heal any amount of hurt, so do not be afraid to love deeply, and to be hurt in the process.
And in all of that courageous, non-hesitant living, never forget to look up.
“The point I am trying to make here is that we as a class have experienced some incredible moments. In the musical “Into the Woods,” a character experiences a great moment and then, in a moment of reflection, says something incredible. “Oh, if life were made of moments, even now and then a bad one… but if life were made of moments, then you’d never know you’d had one.” To de-rhyme and dig deeper into Sondheim’s lyrical brilliance, think for a moment about what this character is saying. If all we ever experience is a peak, it will start to feel more like a plateau, and we may stop appreciating those precious times when everything works out better than you dreamed it could and you walk away feeling like you really were, for only a moment, on top of the world. Life is not, nor can it be, made of these moments. Instead, these moments are made of life. So, I propose that we have not experienced great moments, but we are experiencing great life. And if that is the case, it does not end after high school. In fact, the end of high school is where the rest of this great life begins.
C.S. Lewis once wrote, “There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.” It is my interpretation that he meant this quote on two levels. First, Lewis was making the same point Sondheim was making, in a sense. Life is not a series of great moments with a few bad ones interspersed. Life is a constant journey, and every journey has a destination. Some people say, “Not all who wander are lost,” and maybe that has some truth in it. But in reality, people who wander usually are not looking ahead; they are usually looking at the ground directly in front of them. So, here’s some of that life-changing advice: Look up. Look up at the world you’re passing by and see the beauty in it. Look up and see the past, remember it, learn from it, but don’t dwell in it. Look up and see the future, more bright and promising than we can even imagine. And finally, look up and see what Lewis really meant. The Things ahead with a capital T. See, Lewis experienced his share of hardship. He saw war, death, and heartbreak many times in his life. So when he wrote this quote, he did not necessarily mean he expected life to improve immediately. The things ahead Lewis is referring to are not things of this world. Lewis believed that at the end of his life journey, he had one final destination: the kingdom of heaven. Some of you do not believe this is your destination or anyone’s destination, and I do not stand before you to tell you to change that. But if you take nothing else from what I have said to you tonight, take this: that whether we gather to celebrate life’s great moments or to mourn life’s heartbreaking twists and turns, I have found no joy that is greater and no hope that is stronger than that joy and hope which is found in Christ. As we take the plunge into the rest of our lives, I want to encourage you all to remember that and to hold onto it in good times and bad.”
These points seemed important for me to make because culture sends such mixed messages about how we should live our lives. We are told we should live life to the fullest because it is short, and we have extreme limits on the time we have to find the meaning of it. At the same time, we are told to guard ourselves and protect ourselves, because life is too short to live it in pain. In my speech, in this post, and in general, I disagree with both of these life perspectives. Life is short because we should not need that much time to find the meaning in it: God has revealed of himself all we could possibly need to be drawn to him, to know him, and to experience his overwhelming sufficiency. Life is painful because too many people are so busy trying to find meaning they hurt others and themselves in the process. Life is short, and we fear it because what happens next is unfamiliar and we cannot fully understand it. Life is painful, and we fear it because we focus more on the fear of pain than the joy that lies just on the other side. Life is short. Life is painful. And in the time it takes to comprehend the balance between the lack of time and the surplus of suffering, life passes by.
I shared the points from my speech with my fellow classmates and with you now because, though I know my published contemplations cannot possibly answer your questions and erase your fears, I hope they can encourage you to set those questions and fears aside, and simply live. Go out and experience the things that scare you. Do it with no fear of failure; failure is an inevitable step on the path to success. Do it without looking back; why look where you cannot go? Look instead at where you are going. Fix your eyes on God and on all that he has set before you, from your next breath to your last breath, and every moment after. If you seek purpose, seek His. If you seek protection from pain, seek His. Never seek elsewhere, and never stop seeking.
Life truly is short. So acknowledge the time constraints, know your purpose, and live fully in that purpose.
Life truly is painful, but in the words of The Lumineers, “It’s better to feel pain than nothing at all. The opposite of love is indifference.” Our God’s love is deep and can heal any amount of hurt, so do not be afraid to love deeply, and to be hurt in the process.
And in all of that courageous, non-hesitant living, never forget to look up.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." --Hebrews 12:1-2
Sunday, June 18, 2017
From Sole to Soul: The Importance of Human Understanding
“You’re not in it to win an argument, you’re in it to win a soul.”
These words, spoken by a mentor years ago, have entirely defined my perspective on disputes and misunderstandings.
In my short but eventful life so far, I have often struggled with pride. I have excelled in areas where I have worked hard, and I have always sought to be the best-- including times of disagreement among peers. Whether someone acted out against me, spoke out against me, or merely disagreed with my opinion, I always wanted to fight back, and I usually won. In all that fighting, I never learned the important lesson that winning is neither everything nor the only thing.
As my not-so-interesting but ever dynamic life often goes, I learned this lesson from a piece of literature. I first read To Kill a Mockingbird when I was thirteen years old, and when I reached the final page and back cover, I flipped it over and read it again immediately. I wanted to understand why I was so drawn to the story, and though I now see multiple reasons, my first realization was that I saw myself in Scout: in her need to understand everything, her need to have pride in what she does and who she is, her need to convey her perspective clearly to others. But at the end of the novel, Scout learns a lesson, and through her epiphany I too have been edified. As Scout stands at the front door of Boo Radley’s house, she finally understands that her perspective does not stand alone, and in all circumstances, one must first stand in the other person’s shoes and understand how the world looks from them.
Sometimes, I am wrong. Sometimes, I do not fully understand a situation. Sometimes, I make a mess where there should be no mess to make. These simple truths sadly took me many years and many destroyed friendships to learn. Yet to that end, I cannot be too hard on myself, because every other person is the same way. We all have our values, our priorities, our opinions, our beliefs, and our prejudices. We all have background experiences which shape our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. Sometimes the best things happen with the worst of intentions, and sometimes the best intentions pave the road to hell. Do not ever settle for an understanding of what a person does or how they do it. Understand why they do it. And furthermore, understand why they employ that reasoning. The human soul is a metaphorical onion. Keep peeling; chances are there is much more underneath.
This mentality has been instrumental as I have faced many bumps in the road through high school, and I am certain it will continue to serve me well as I go on with life. Where everyone, friends and strangers alike, used to see a calloused, hot-headed opinion machine, I hope and believe they now see a compassionate, loving person who, with morality and convictions intact, will always see things objectively, and will place above all else just a hint of human understanding. If I walk a mile in your shoes, I should hope you will be willing to borrow mine, but either way, I want to know you from sole to soul.
These words, spoken by a mentor years ago, have entirely defined my perspective on disputes and misunderstandings.
In my short but eventful life so far, I have often struggled with pride. I have excelled in areas where I have worked hard, and I have always sought to be the best-- including times of disagreement among peers. Whether someone acted out against me, spoke out against me, or merely disagreed with my opinion, I always wanted to fight back, and I usually won. In all that fighting, I never learned the important lesson that winning is neither everything nor the only thing.
As my not-so-interesting but ever dynamic life often goes, I learned this lesson from a piece of literature. I first read To Kill a Mockingbird when I was thirteen years old, and when I reached the final page and back cover, I flipped it over and read it again immediately. I wanted to understand why I was so drawn to the story, and though I now see multiple reasons, my first realization was that I saw myself in Scout: in her need to understand everything, her need to have pride in what she does and who she is, her need to convey her perspective clearly to others. But at the end of the novel, Scout learns a lesson, and through her epiphany I too have been edified. As Scout stands at the front door of Boo Radley’s house, she finally understands that her perspective does not stand alone, and in all circumstances, one must first stand in the other person’s shoes and understand how the world looks from them.
Sometimes, I am wrong. Sometimes, I do not fully understand a situation. Sometimes, I make a mess where there should be no mess to make. These simple truths sadly took me many years and many destroyed friendships to learn. Yet to that end, I cannot be too hard on myself, because every other person is the same way. We all have our values, our priorities, our opinions, our beliefs, and our prejudices. We all have background experiences which shape our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. Sometimes the best things happen with the worst of intentions, and sometimes the best intentions pave the road to hell. Do not ever settle for an understanding of what a person does or how they do it. Understand why they do it. And furthermore, understand why they employ that reasoning. The human soul is a metaphorical onion. Keep peeling; chances are there is much more underneath.
This mentality has been instrumental as I have faced many bumps in the road through high school, and I am certain it will continue to serve me well as I go on with life. Where everyone, friends and strangers alike, used to see a calloused, hot-headed opinion machine, I hope and believe they now see a compassionate, loving person who, with morality and convictions intact, will always see things objectively, and will place above all else just a hint of human understanding. If I walk a mile in your shoes, I should hope you will be willing to borrow mine, but either way, I want to know you from sole to soul.
"But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you: yet do it with gentleness and respect." -1 Peter 3:15
Sunday, June 4, 2017
I Wonder As I Wonder
Hello readers!
It has been so long, I may need to reintroduce myself. That may come later. I apologize for the silence; this past year has been incredibly busy and difficult to balance, and I’m not exactly Wonder Woman-- which brings me to today’s topic.
I recently went to see the new Wonder Woman movie, and I’ll spare you a plot summary and movie review, but if you have not seen it, I would highly recommend. The rest of this post will explain why, but if you have not seen it, you might want to see it before you continue reading. I won’t intentionally spoil anything, but little spoilers may slip out.
There was a lot to love about this movie, and also a few things not to love. The dialogue was patchy in some places, and there were some small holes in the plot that were not filled by the end of the movie. However, the action was breathtaking and well presented, characters were developed cleanly and in good detail, and Gal Gadot is absolutely perfect for the role of Wonder Woman. But what really stood out to me in this film was not any good work of cinematography, performance, or effects. The elements of this film that pleasantly surprised me most were the undertones of spirituality and the subtle but effective proclamation of the gospel.
This is not the first time this has been evident in a DC storyline. Batman vs. Superman, the film in which Wonder Woman is reintroduced, explored the storyline of resurrection and of the role of a god (implying a capital G in many places) among his people. These elements of Christianity, though refreshing to observe, were not carried out particularly artfully, but an effort is an effort. However, this effort pales in comparison to the masterful work in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the second installation of the recent Batman trilogy. The Dark Knight addresses the idea of a hero who saves people despite the fact that they do not, have not, and will never deserve it. This concept was such a dramatic turn from all other hero storylines (at least in recent years) in which the hero takes out the “bad guys” so humanity can be its inherently good self again. The Dark Knight’s premise was that humanity is not inherently good, and is in fact so broken it is beyond self-redemption. Nolan’s Gotham City does not need a helping hand, it needs devastation and destruction, the only way through which it can be truly saved and redeemed. Gotham serves as a symbol for all people. Our only hope for redemption is to be put to death in our sin and be made completely new in Christ. The Dark Knight could just as well have ended with scripture recitation with how accurate a portrayal of the gospel it is.
In all honesty, I never expected another superhero, or any movie, to proclaim the gospel as beautifully or effectively as is done in The Dark Knight. But then I saw Wonder Woman.
Yeah. It’s that good.
Wonder Woman’s character arc is primarily centered around the fact that she is a deity, but no one bothers to tell her this information. However, she thinks like a goddess without knowing she is one. She desires to protect humanity and destroy evil. Her reasoning for this initially is a naive belief that humanity is inherently good, but that people have been corrupted by external forces. The climax of this story occurs when she thinks she has destroyed the external forces, and the war and corruption continues. She soon realizes the external force she sought was actually elsewhere, but as she fights this force, she begins to understand that humanity truly does not deserve her. However, she does not stop fighting. As she fights, she explains to her adversary why she fights-- not because she is required or obligated to, and certainly not because anyone deserves the salvation she is able to deliver, but because of love. She loves people. So though they truly do not deserve a redemptive hero, she carries out her act of redemptive heroism for no other reason than because she wants to. It is her great expression of love for people.
So often we find ourselves watching movies and reading books about great heroes and wishing they were real, and that they could swoop in and save us. And while we can be pretty certain Wonder Woman will not be crossing No Man’s Land for us any time soon, we have a far better and more beautiful reality: our savior Jesus descended into our broken world and even into the grave so he could save us, and he did not do it because we deserved it or because he had to. He sacrificed himself willingly and with joy, for no other reason than because he wanted to. It was his great expression of love for people.
The greatest art is not necessarily that which expresses ideas the most clearly. Great art effectively and beautifully begins conversations about the ideas it expresses, whether these ideas are explicitly stated and elaborated on in that art or not. By this definition, Wonder Woman is a beautiful work of art because it opens up an area of conversation as to its meaning and implications about our world, our philosophy, and our faith. The gospel proclamation may not have even intentional (although it certainly appears to be), but Jesus said if the rest of the world was silent, the rocks would cry out his praise. Sometimes the most effective reflections of the gospel are those that happen unintentionally, because our world exists for the glory of God, and the glory of God is always ultimately achieved.
I look forward to seeing Wonder Woman’s impact on the superhero movie industry and on viewers everywhere who may or may not have been previously introduced to the truth framed in beauty that is Christianity: that though we do not deserve a hero, our hero already came. And no matter how many plot twists we may come upon, we have something citizens of the superhero universe do not: our hero is already victorious.
“He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.’” -Luke 19:40
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