Gospel and Pixar
Posted on Wednesday, April 22, 2015 by
You’ve just been served
Very recently, during a Thursday night meeting of high school students on the Hilltop we call Sozo, a 15-year old freshman named “Martell” wanted to spend some time with me. He asked if he could tag along while we went and picked up another student from the track meet. On the way over, he meekly asked for help.
“So, I need some help, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Of course. What’s up?”
Martell explained how a man he didn’t know accosted him after school. He asked his name, and then put an envelope in his hand and bluntly stated, “You’ve just been served.” Martell explained that he didn’t understand what any of it meant, and he’s looked at the papers, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
I really don’t know Martell that well. He’s not been to coming to Sozo for a long time, and I was a little bit surprised that he wanted to hang out. From what I could gather in the few times I have spent with him, he had always come across as kind, quiet, somewhat shy and reserved, and an overall “good” kid. I began to cautiously ask some questions to try to better understand his situation. I learned the following:
Martell lives alone with his mother – whom he really loves.
She gets mad at him a lot. When he misbehaves, she calls his uncle or god-brother over. They take him to a secluded area of the park and beat him. His uncle is cautious to punch him only on the chest so it doesn’t leave visible marks.
There is no father in Martell’s life. No one to counsel him on friends, girls, school, job, and how to be a contributing part of society. Martell is learning all of these things from the street.
As a freshman at Foss High School, Martell has been told by some of the older kids at school that his freshman year doesn’t really matter. He has not yet passed a class or earned any credits toward graduation. He is on track to finish the year with a 0.0 GPA.
Martell smokes a lot of weed. He has also started to sell a little to make some money.
In the nine-minute drive from our Hilltop office to Foss High School, I learned so much about this young man. I was mostly shocked that this quiet, kind, and articulate young person was going through so much. He couldn’t see it, and I hid it in my voice, but my eyes were welled up with tears.
Labels simply will not capture the identity of this young person. You could call him “troubled” or “at-risk”. Perhaps call him, “dropout,” “abandoned,” or “failure” or maybe even “criminal” or “dealer.” But all of these fall short of truly understanding this young person who God loves. They just don’t apply. Such poor descriptors, he’s really not any of those things. He’s a child, made in God’s image, full of hope and potential.
Keeping my eyes fixed on the road, I told Martell that I’d love to see the papers he was served with when we get back to the office, and I’d explain what they all mean and try to walk with him through it all.
The Gospel according to Pixar
My wife takes tremendous joy in finding opportune moments to embarrass me. I remember sitting in a packed theater watching Toy Story 3 a few years back. Towards the end of the movie, during a heartfelt moment, she says – just loud enough to be easily be heard by the crowd around us, but not so loud as to be obnoxious – “Oh my goodness, are you crying?”
Through choked back tears I reply, “Of course not. Just… watch the movie, okay?”
As a father of four, I am a complete sap. I cry very easily. And for some strange reason, Pixar films have a way of getting me to well up every time. And although they are certainly not perfect, they often communicate important truths that display the heart of Christ and God the Father. Let me elaborate some.
In the Pixar film Wall-E, a robot named Eve is given the directive to search an apocalyptic wasteland of Earth for signs of life. The protagonist, a trash compactor robot named Wall-E, in an attempt to win her affections, gives Eve an old boot. Inside the boot, a small plant, struggling to survive, has taken root. Upon finding the life of the plant in the boot, Eve’s sole mission evolves to guard and protect the budding life inside of the boot. Somehow, in this fictional story, the future of the planet was hinging on the survival of the plant in the boot.
The old, tiny, dirty boot, forgotten in a pile of trash, feels in many ways like the environment Martell is being raised in. Barren and desolate, any sign of life at all in this unlikely soil is a complete miracle. Rather than criticizing Martell for his failure to thrive, we at YFC are overcome with wonder that Jesus could birth life in such a harsh and unforgiving environment. We marvel, that despite the numerous hardships Martell faces, there is still a miraculous seed of life growing within the boot of Martell’s life.
Seek Life
I see life in Martell’s willingness to seek out help. I see life in Martell’s willingness to pray with me after the night is over. I see life in his desire to repent of sin and to turn away from destruction. I see life in Martell’s smile and his eyes which demonstrate thoughtful reflection. And I find tremendous hope that forgotten kids like Martell – those who so often the world overlooks – are the ones our God chooses to display His glory in.
And like the robot Eve, commissioned to find and nurture the miracle of life in a dry and weary land, we at YFC engage in the same mission. Like the robot Eve, we believe that hope and future is found in young people like Martell. We see that any sign of life is a miracle to be guarded and nurtured.
Life Abundant
I believe Jesus feels the same way. In John 10:10, Jesus describes a world of sheep being harassed by his enemy.
“The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy…”
The enemy hates Martell. He HATES him. He plans to destroy his life – through drugs, failure, abandonment, abuse and a complete lack of hope in the future.
“But I have come that they may have life, and life abundantly.”
Jesus, however, finds his sheep and guards them. He gives them what they need to both survive and thrive. Our King, Jesus, loves Martell, and has come so Martell may have abundant life.
Give Life
When we returned to the office, I looked at Martell’s papers. His mother was pressing charges against him for being uncontrollable, and was asking the state to intervene. She had filed numerous charges against him, some true, others not. She was essentially stating that she would not care for him any longer.
As I explained these things to him, Martell had a look of complete bewilderment on his face. He looked sad, scared; not angry. He looked like a 15 year old who’s just been told that his mother no longer wants him. At the end of the night we prayed together. He asked Jesus to help him and to forgive him of his sins. He asked for new life.
Martell will be in court sometime this week to face his charges. YFC will be there with him. We see the plant in the boot. We see the life that Jesus has planted there. We believe in its potential. Would you pray with us? Pray for Martell. Pray for little plants in dirty old boots everywhere. And give life. Give life abundantly.
- Myron
Myron Bernard serves as the Ministry Director for Tacoma Area YFC
Contact Myron