The Lion King and the Gospel

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Tonight Rachel and I saw the Lion King in 3D. At first I have to be honest I wasn’t so excited but I figured why not, there certainly didn’t seem to be anything better on. So we had dinner at glacier brew house restaurant in Anchorage and then went to see this “kids movie”. Right from the beginning I felt like God was speaking to me. In the opening all is right with the world. The King is good and a new son is born. Kinda like the garden of Eden. BUT there is one who is jealous of the King and his son (Scar). The son is the rightfully over this deceptive, cowardly trickster but the schemer first plants a seed for disobedience and then tricks the boy into thinking he is responsible for his fathers death and that he must run to escape the shame/condemnation of what he has done. Sound like the Devil to you too? The King gives his life to save his son and tells him he will always be with him. But rather then believe this he believes the lies of His uncle and that what he has done is beyond forgiveness.

Enter two loners preaching self centered apathy that they don’t really believe deep down or they would abandon each other and  Simba in the end. So our would be prince is living in condemnation, apathy, and denial. Enter the princess who reminds him of who he is and who his father is as well as a weird monkey that leads him to an encounter with his father who tells him that he has never left him and to remember who he is.

Simba then walking in the revelation of who he is takes back his authority from the one who has brought only death and destruction to his followers and the land.   In a battle of flames the enemy is totally removed, and the King returns.

Now don’t hear what I am not saying. Those who put out the Lion King were not trying to preach the gospel. They throw in so much weird spiritual Mumbo Jumbo that you couldn’t possibly think they were trying to preach Jesus. BUT there is something in this movie that resonates deep within the soul. I think they stumbled on truth that a fatherless generation is DESPERATE to hear. Our Father loves us! He laid down his life for us (He and Jesus are one and indivdual) and he even laid down the life of his Son Jesus for us. A much greater sacrifice, ask almost any parent and they will tell you this is true. And he is with us, pursing us, calling us to salvation and to be who he created us to be, beyond lies of the enemy and even our own sin.

After the movie was over tonight I felt my heart beating a million miles an hour I knew God wanted me to speak to the packed out crowd in the theater. So I shouted out the gospel in a few sentences (that in hind sight I would speak a little more clearly or at least explain what I was saying) but that doesn’t change the fact that God had his truth, that He placed in that movie, shouted out at the top of my lungs in a crowded theater tonight. As you read this pray that everyone who goes to that movie will encounter God just as I did. That His message would push past any bad spiritual stuff in the movie and hearts would be awakened to the Kingdom of God, to Jesus Christ. Because after all the isn’t the Lion of Judah the true LION KING.