Are You an Obedient Sinner?

I recently had a girl's night with my 20-something (in age) girl friends.  We watched a teen favorite, Ella Enchanted and as my dear friend Emily pointed out, this silly, tween flick has some deep truth that we could all learn from. 

Okay, let me set the scene: 

Ella (a version of Cinderella) has to do everything that she is told, thanks to a meddling fairy who gave her the gift, or rather curse of obedience when she was a baby. This "gift" forces her through magic to do anything that she is directly told to do: hop on one foot, dance, "say you are stupid and don't know what you are talking about."  Whatever she's told to do she has to do.  As Ella goes on an adventure trying to find a way to break the curse she meets and falls in love with Prince Charmont  (which in French means charming).  In the end, Ella is ordered by Charmont's evil uncle to kill Charmont at the stroke of midnight.  Ella tries to fight this by tying herself to a tree...but to no avail.  At midnight (thanks to the same meddling fairy) she finds herself in a beautiful dress, with a prince at her feet proclaiming his love and asking for her hand...but in that hand is a dagger. 

Ella feels that she HAS to do this based on the curse... But as her mother said, there is something stronger in her than the curse.  Looking at herself in the mirror, Ella says "You will not obey anymore," and thus the curse is broken.  And after some imprisonment, a fight scene, a wedding and a Bollywood style dacnce ending to an Elton John song, Ella and Charmont live happily ever after.

Something that stood out to me, that I had never noticed before, and that Emily echoed, was that Ella realized in that moment that she didn't HAVE to obey.  I feel like as Christians we fall into the trap of feeling like we HAVE to sin.  We put the label of sinner on ourselves and live in the drudgery of life, feeling that sin is at best inevitable and at worst a curse that we must obey.  Watching Ella realize that she has the power and strength in her to overcome her curse, reminded me that as Christians we have a Power and Strength in us that has overcome our curse.  In fact our Prince died to overcome our curse.  

So, I guess what I am saying is to remember that He who is in you is great than he who is in the world.  Remember that you are no longer a slave to sin and no longer have to obey it.   Will you fall? Will you still have days where you go back into the open prison cell and roll around in the dirt?  Probably. But don't live in the lie that that cell is where you belong.  You don't belong tied to a tree trying to be good. You are the spotless Bride of an adoring Prince and He says you are a Saint not a Sinner.  He says you are lovely and wanted and clean.  

So stop living like you are a slave to sin, you are free!  Live like you know you are loved. 

John, The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved

One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to Him. -John 13:23

As a young girl, reading the book of John, I thought that John was very arrogant to call himself "the disciple whom Jesus loved." I thought that he must have thought very highly of himself to say that.  I also found it strange that he never called himself by name, but rather only and always referred to himself in this way.  
But now that I am older I understand that John was not being arrogant, but rather very humble.  
I see now that John identified himself as being loved by Jesus.  That WAS his name.  He understood, in a way that only one who has "reclined beside Him," can understand, that to be loved by Jesus is to be loved wholly.  To be loved by Jesus, is to be loved as if you are the only person in the world. In this, I think that John understood that Jesus can love each person completely with all that He is.  

I think about that scene, John laying down, his head resting on Jesus' chest, and I just feel such a longing for heaven.  But I know even now, that this sort of joy and peace is possible.  No matter the storm, no matter the circumstances, my identity stands.  No matter how far I wander away, no matter who may come into my life... This will remain.  I will always be The Girl Whom Jesus Loved. The girl who He loves, always.   

I am writing this new blog as a sister blog to Dark, But Lovely, which is a place for me to be real and let out all my messy thoughts, confusions, frustrations and thoughts on God.  

This new blog is a place for me to write my praises, triumphs, and thoughts on God.  I hope to be just as real, but to have  a place where I can explore what it means to have my identity firmly placed, reclining beside Him.