Remember Who You Are

Sometime following the release of the great Disney film The Lion King on VHS back in the 1990s I did a program for the youth of FUMC-Kissimmee using the clip you see above.  From the first time I saw the movie at the midnight show on opening night at the Pleasure Island theaters, I absolutely loved this scene. It seemed to have so much to say about life, and specifically, about our spiritual journeys.  I wanted to use the message that Mufasa gives Simba to help our students remember that they were each called by God.  I would later use the same program at a couple of other churches.

It is so easy for each of us to forget that God is not just some nameless, faceless deity in the sky- God is our Abba Father.  He cares for us. He looks after us. He gives us love and grace when we don't deserve it.  But we humans get so comfortable relying on ourselves. We forget that we are a part of God's plan for saving the world.  We believe the lie that we are not good enough for God to use. We dwell in the past.  We forget who we are-  and whose we are.  We stop believing in the power of God to use us, transform us, and forgive us. But just like Mufasa, God is always there to call us back. To remind us that He will never forsake us, and that we have work to do as a part of the family of God. We may not be kings like Simba.  But we all can serve the Prince of Peace.

So today I remind myself and all of you to REMEMBER.  Remember that you were created in the image of God.  Remember that Jesus died on the cross to save YOU, and that he rose on the third day so that we might have all that power (Ephesians 1:19).  Remember that you have been gifted by God to serve him here on this earth.  You are a chosen, holy and loved child of God.  So when fear, guilt and sin seem to have you crushed, listen to old Rafiki.  The past can hurt. You can either run from it, or learn from it.  Remember who you are...

Because of Jesus.