Film Friday I have started re-reading one of my favourite books Where Eagles Soar by Jamie Buckingham, and in the introduction he describes salvation as being about becoming fully human. Which makes me think of the new Barbie film.
Things start to go wrong for Barbie in her perfect pink world. She begins to feel the effects of stress and worry – and most shockingly of all – her feet (forever shaped into that high-heeled position) have turned flat!! Oh dear. So she must visit the real world to sort things out. And she is in for a shock when she gets there.
At one point she meets Ruth, who first created her, and Ruth offers her the chance to become human. She says she won’t control her, but instead Barbie will be free to explore and experience all of life’s real joys and problems. A big step for a plastic doll to take.
Years ago some friends and I created a mime about the Creation account in Genesis chapter 1. In the mime God made a person as a robot. Perfectly behaved – but lifeless. Until God breathed into the person, and suddenly they were free to explore, discover, smell, taste, feel etc. The gift of freewill is our greatest present in many ways, but of course we all know how wrong that can go. We all of us now struggle to make the right choices, and this has made us at times less human, not more.
And so Jesus turns up, offering us life in all its fullness, not a quick fix, or an instant cure, or a finger-snapping perfect life, but an ongoing chance to discover glimpses of his salvation, of what it means to be truly human, with God’s love and strength helping us each day to live a little differently.
If you've appreciated this, why not...
Donate to support Dave's work Subscribe on YouTube Follow on X Like on Facebook Contact Dave Subscribe