This weekend, I took two of my kids to see the new “Captain America 2” movie. I had heard that there was social commentary in the movie that focused on the surveillance woes of the past several decades, I mean years :); that it had the CIA, NSA, and many other known and unknown agencies in its line of site, and that it took on the concept of freedom in the face of tyranny “head on.”
I completely agree with this perspective, and yet, I don’t think that was the most poignant allegory in the latest (and I must say one of the best) Marvel Avenger movies. What struck me was the one line that said something like Hydra could bring order to 7 billion by only sacrificing a few million. And of course what Hydra meant was that the 7 billion would become servants of Hydra.
We all know that Hydra is just bad, they are the very darkness incarnate in the Marvel Universe. They are the enemy. The enemy isn’t afraid of the 7 billion, but rather the minority – the small group of people who will stand up and, as Captain America, live a life that inspires other to be better and do right. Being a Christ-follower, we call this concept “bringing heaven to earth” or “being a light.” This is a fancy biblical way of seeing what our Daddy God has to say about a subject or matter (which is always good, by the way), and radiating the same thing here in the earth. There are a couple verses in the Bible that talk about this concept:
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16-18
Our enemy is most afraid when a small group of people stand in the light. It doesn’t take a majority, it takes principle and the “goodness” that comes from hanging out with an awesome, good, loving Daddy God. When we do this, diseases can’t hang around, depression can’t stay put, poverty has to run and hide, and like Hydra, the negative plans of destruction and death get exposed to the light and fall apart. Matter-of-fact, the very tools and weapons the enemy uses attack each other, but that’s another comparison for another time 🙂
Joshua Thinks 