I just finished watching Star Wars again for the umpteenth time and loved it. Although an amazing futuristic fantasy, it is so full of redemptive themes and good lessons that are true to life.
These themes align with my belief system in real life and with most of our hopes and dreams. What could be better than to have good win out over evil and to eternally share immortality with those we love? Did you ever stop to think about the fact that this is what Christianity offers its adherents in real life?
The one significant deviation of Christian teaching from this storyline is that we cannot save ourselves by good and valiant acts but that we need a Savior who intervenes on our behalf. No doubt we all see the struggle between good and evil and hope that Good will succeed in the end; but how do we see that accomplished? This is the all-important question!
Do you remember that Anakin Skywalker had no human father? So we have a little taste that he was of spiritual origin but then succumbs to the Dark side and becomes an agent of evil for most of the story - so the point is lost. What I would love to have seen would be for the Hero to have been pure throughout the story despite the challenges of the enemy; more like the character of Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. So what is my point here? It boils down to this: We need a savior who is perfect!
Now let’s shift to a real-life scan of all the major religions of the world and ask two important questions:
- Who is the Hero?
- How do you get to heaven?
Except for Christianity – the hero is flawed in some way and you must work your way to heaven. Christianity is absolutely unique on these two points. Think about that and you will have an important clue to the reliability of every other option.
We are living out Star Wars in our every-day life but it is not a fantasy. Let’s settle down to reality and choose to align ourselves with the Hero who has no flaws and is therefore the perfect Savior we all need.
"Any Hero small enough to fail is too small to be my Savior"
