Flash of Faith

I was catching up on The Flash, namely the episode Invincible. In a scene Barry is consoling Caitlin after her escape from Zoom. He says the line, "if the universe is with us, how could we possibly lose?" It sparked a memory for me of Romans 8:31, "What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?"

What happened in the rest of the episode also brought home something very true to the Christian life as well. Once we have this faith that gives us unwaverying confidence, people will immediately try to shut it down. Throughout the episode the team doubted his faith and came to be worried that he was over reaching. That not giving into fear, meant he had none. As he explained; it's confidence. He understood the task at hand was seemingly insurmountable, he forged ahead in faith instead. What Cisco describes as "walking on sunshine", is the simple faith that Barry has in the higher power of the universe/speed force.

As christians we have this same faith in Jesus Christ. When evil taunts you with being good (as Zoom did with Flash towards the end of the episode), when people doubt the abilities of God, when it seems that things in life are insurmountable; stop and remember that God is for us, who can be against us? Then move forward in faith.

A gender short, the roles we play

In the Charmed episode called "Battle of the Hexes" the new sister witch they have found is attending a college course and says the line often heard, "The only way there can be any balance is if women get the chance to rule." The teacher goes on to say that history does not support her theory and that behind every great man there is a great woman and vice versa. She doesn't believe him and there begins the lesson of the episode.

The whole episode is about the balance and harmony that is created when men and women work together. The new sister finds a belt that gives her great power to defend women, but the price of power is steep. She creates chaos and disaster wherever she goes. Even when she sees the unbalance and recognizes that it's not right, she listens to the voices that encourage her to keep going.

This whole thing reminded me of 1 Corinthians 11:11-12 that says, "Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God." By the end of the episode Billie learns this simple Biblical truth; that we need each other, we are made for and from each other.

It's a good reminder that God created us for Him and each other. That only through respect and recognition of proper roles, does peace reign.

A charmed choice

I'm going through my re-watch of the show Charmed. This witchy tele-novella can be a fun watch as it sifts through the many difficult choices that the chosen ones go through. Deep into the last seasons of the show I was watching an episode titled: Charmageddon. What I found interesting about this episode is it's answer to the questions, "Why do bad things happen?" "Why does God allow that person to do wrong/bad/evil if he has the power to stop them?" "Why do bad things happen to good people and vice versa?".

Once the sisters reach utopia they no longer feel conflict of any kind. This includes sadness, pain, anger and annoyance. Conflict can not be tolerated and those who create it are dealt with swiftly by a group of characters collectively called the Avatars. A loved one passes and they are just mildly concerned. They continue only with how they should happy because the other one has moved on to a better place. It is a world without free will. In the end they recognize that the way the world is set up, "The Grand Design" has to include all hardships or it's not living at all. It's a gilded cage. No longer can you decide your beliefs or destiny; it is chosen for you: the way of non-conflict. They realize that the battle between good and evil, the ability to choose; helps us understand who we are and what we truly believe. It helps us to grow in maturity and closer to God. It helps us to understand other people. To be a comforter to those who share our misfortunes and disappointments. When we are caged and stopped from this, we no longer have a concept of reality, we are robots only allowed to feel and act one way.

The shows answer, to allow conflict, pain, anger, sadness back into the world; is intrinsic to the nature of the world we live in. It's a world of guidelines and rules; a world created for a greater purpose other than having a great time and just doing what you want. In the bible God shows that we are warned and told of this reality often. Genesis 19 is a good example of this understanding. Two cities; Sodom and Gomorrah. Both dedicated to the idea of eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die; are destroyed after warnings for refusing to turn from that destructive ideal and follow God instead. In this same bit of world history, Lot and his family make a different choice: they choose to follow God and are warned to go out from the cities; thus saving their lives from this particular disaster. When I watched this episode it showed yet again how powerful choice is. That the choice to follow Jesus and believe in Him is something we all have so that it's real to us, so that it matters. Instead of being made to do it, we are allowed to choose which eternity we want, one with him or one without. Joshua 24:15 is famous for the last line, "but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.", but it is the beginning of that verse which holds also a key to understanding this design: but if you think it's hard don't do it. Do you think following God is harder than the eternal choice to live without Him? What doors will you open when it comes time to make the choices in life you must make? How will you live this life that God has given you?