Lessons in faith from Spider-Man

Friday night, I went to see one of the best movies I've ever seen. Seriously. In my opinion, Spider-Man 2 joins the ranks of movies like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars (the original trilogy), ET and Super Man (the original movie) as movies that re-tell the Greatest Story Ever Told. I'm not saying these movies are a word-for-word narrative of the Gospel, but if you are paying attention, you can see the story of Christ and His sacrifice and even see reminders of life lessons that are told throughout the Bible.

*****MOVIE SPOILER***** (If you haven't seen the movie and don't want it ruined for you, stop reading now!)

For instance, in Spider-Man 2 - Peter Parker struggles with a major choice for his life. Does he do what he has been gifted to do, sacrificing all that he wants, and serve humankind as Spider-Man or does he only live to please himself? We see him go through the process of discovery to find out which choice he can live with.

I so understand his struggle. Every day, I have to choose for whom I am living - me or God. Am I going to do my own thing or will I live to fulfill the purpose God created me for? I believe it's a struggle we all deal with.

The movie's writers and director were so clear in showing what happened to Peter when he chose to live life for himself. As he struggles with this issue, he begins to lose his "powers" - sometimes his webs don't work and he's left flying through the air with nothing to catch him. Once he makes the choice to leave Spider-Man behind, he loses all his powers and becomes just like anyone else - he has no super-strength, no webs, no ability to climb walls and he even loses his sight again and has to start wearing his glasses. Interesting, isn't it?

Isn't that what happens to us when we walk outside of God's will and do things our way? We begin to stumble and fall in every area of our lives and don't have the power to overcome the smallest obstacles.

As Peter begins to live life his way everything on the outside looks good - he's able to do his homework and excel in school, keep his promises to his friends, is getting rest and even gets close to getting "the girl" - but on the inside, he knows something isn't right. He sees people in trouble and knowing he could help them, he turns away. This keeps eating at him until one night, he comes across a building on fire and even though he's no longer Spider-Man, he rushes into the building to save a child. In the process of saving the girl, he nearly gets them both killed. He tried to do the right thing on his own as Peter Parker and nearly failed. Once outside, while breathing oxygen from the paramedic's truck, he hears that there was another person who died in the fire. It is then he realizes that had he been Spider-Man, he could have saved that person.

Peter is in the process of readjusting his life to again become Spider-Man when he is confronted By Dr. Octopus. His powers, which had left him, once again begin to return and he is able to save Mary Jane from being crushed by a car. Dr. Octopus (who knows that Peter Parker has some relationship with Spider-Man because he takes Spidey's pictures) tells Peter to have Spider-Man meet him. He then tosses Peter aside and takes Mary Jane as his hostage. In that instant, when someone Peter loves is threatened, he knows he must do whatever it takes to save her. He must become Spider-Man again.

It was so interesting to me the imagery the moviemakers used to show this transformation in Peter. He steps outside the coffee shop, still wearing his glasses but everything is terribly fuzzy, so he takes them off and his vision is clear. I'll tell you, I almost started crying. Isn't it true that when we accept what it is we are called to do that our vision becomes clear? God was speaking right to me through that movie. That, in itself, is an interesting experience. As I shared in an earlier post, I know that God has called me to work with the youth, but I hadn't accepted His purpose for my life because it wasn't quite the way I thought it should be. There were (and are) things I have to give up in order to fulfill what He's called me to be. Funny thing is, once I accepted it, things have begun to come together and I see my "vision" getting clearer.

Anyway, I won't tell the rest of the movie in detail, but there is some strong imagery of the Cross and Christ's sacrifice in the film. Very cool. The other awesome part of the story is that even though Peter gave up his desires, when he became Spider-Man and began to live out his purpose, he still got what he wanted. Isn't that what the Bible says? "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

So there you have it. My humble ramblings about lessons in faith from Spider-Man. God is truly amazing. He can even use a movie to reinforce His message.