The Gospel According to Zootopia

I recently saw Zootopia and absolutely loved it!  I loved it so much that the Shakira song, "Try Everything" is now my ringtone.  The movie has gotten a lot of flack because of the supposed underlying message of the liberal bent in our country.  Ok, I'm about as conservative as they come, but people, please.  Can we not look at every movie for some political agenda that will warp our children and turn them into raging entitlelists?  Granted, Hollywood is saturated with left-wing thinking, but I prefer to look at movies - especially animated ones - through the eyes of the gospel.  Our country is divided enough these days.

The story begins with Judy Hopps, a vivacious, energetic bunny with big dreams, wanting to leave the comfort of her family's carrot farm to pursue a life as a law enforcement officer in the land of Zootopia.  Zootopia is that big city for animals - the Los Angeles or New York City for creatures - where dreams come true.  Although her parents hate to see her go (even though they have a passel of her siblings still remaining), she heads to Zootopia and does indeed become a law enforcement officer.  I'll save ruining the plot, but Judy comes into her own through a complex situation between Mayor Lionheart and his assistant mayor Bellwether, a lamb.  

In a world where chaos seems to be happening all around us, this little flick truly waves the flag of "All Lives Matter."  From Judy Hopps to the Mayoral Lion, everyone was important.  Nobody cared if Judy was a tiny rabbit, she was a great policewoman!  And her life had a plan.  There may be no better verse in Scripture that screams "All Lives Matter" than John 3:16..."For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that WHOSOEVER (emphasis mine) believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."  God loved ALL lives so much, He gave His only Son for us.  

I applaud Disney on many fronts.  Yes, they are a secular company so they aren't weaving Christian themes in every movie, but they are hitting home runs with their recent movie messaging.  Inside Out...a child struggles with a major move and life change and we see her real emotions, realizing that Joy and Sadness go hand in hand.  Finding Dory....a fish with a short-term memory can still make a difference, displaying that a child with special needs is still very valuable.  And, now Zootopia, where a small bunny never gives up on her dream and makes a big difference in the world of Zootopia, meaning every life matters. 

In this movie, all animals co-habitate with each other, even those that would normally eat each other in the real world.  One day we will live in a new world where the lion will lay down with the lamb, and it will not only be Zootopia, but it will be Paradise, with Jesus in complete control as we live in this New Earth.  Until then, let's all remember all lives matter....because they matter to God.  

A World With No Color

The news in the last week has been disheartening and sad.  It doesn't matter who you are or the color of your skin, if you've watched the deaths at the hands of law enforcement and the deaths of those retaliating those actions continuing to split the country by color, you should feel sad.  

I have best friends that are black, and I have friends who are police officers.  I love them both.  I don't agree with the actions we've seen in the past week and feel like I want to just live in a world without color.  But how boring would this world be without color?  Yet, if we were all green, then maybe all of this would stop, and the issues at the heart of this would be addressed.  We're sinful people living in a fallen world.  We all need a Savior.

This past weekend, I spent a lot of time with my church family, and as I reflected on the activities I did, I was reminded how "colorless" my world is, or rather, how I don't "see" color.  Saturday morning I celebrated with a woman at our church about to become a Mom for the first time.  This precious little girl is being born to a sweet couple that will raise her to love the Lord and to not see color.  I left that baby shower and headed to a "farewell" gathering for one of my great friends who is heading westward to take on his dream of teaching at the college level.  It just so happens, that great friend is black.  I don't see him as black.  We all hugged him and will miss seeing him regularly, and see him as family, not black.  Both black and white will miss him terribly and thanks to technology can keep up with him much easier.

Last night, our church family had a building community night, which means to us, fun times after the evening service.  We had organized kickball games between teams of young 'uns and old folks, a bluegrass band, and Steel City Pops which seem to be life altering, but I'd say it takes two for that change to occur.  Our church is blessed to have many members of law enforcement as part of our family, and our congregation - black and white - love and respect them.  I couldn't help but look around at all the colors I saw, too.  Families who've adopted children from Africa and Ethiopia.  A church family full of all sorts of "color" of people and, again, I didn't see color.  I did see the cutest little bluegrass dancers and Popsicle eaters around.  By the end of the evening, I'd almost forgotten the way the rest of the world operates.  

If you're like me, you're sick of all the hate, violence and division you see in this country.  I've decided that we need to adopt a new song that this country needs to sing...and the lyrics go something like this....

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world.  

Jesus doesn't see color.  Nor should we.  

A Round Tuit

My Dad used to carry around a wooden disc with the word TUIT painted on the face of this pseudo coin.  I could always find one in his suit coat pocket when I went digging for a peppermint.  Or on the top of the dresser when he emptied his pants pockets out.  Someone along his work journey gave him this disc to remind him that you needed to get a round tuit.  Or removing the phonetics, "get around to it."  My Dad was the ultimate in Dad humor so he ate this up.

He'd make conversations at gatherings by throwing the coin on a table and asking the person if they knew what it was.  This was a puzzle that could go on for hours and he found it comical to finally have to explain it if they gave up.  I miss his Dad humor.

On Sunday, my friends and I went to Zeggz for lunch/brunch after church.  A quick aside - this restaurant is apparently a competitor for a local favorite, Wild Eggs.  After my first experience, there is no comparison.  Wild Eggs is clearly better, starting with the fact that you have to order off a wall at Zeggz.  (I'll save "ordering off a wall" rant for a future blog post)

As we were eating, I saw a man come in the door that quickly reminded me of my Dad.  His salty gray hair was slicked back, and he was in a suit that was snappy and a bit progressive for a man who looked to be in his 80s.  My Dad had gray hair with touches of his jet black still visible and wore it slicked back.  He also could pull off a stylish suit coat like a champion, wearing pink, yellow and green ones on occasion.

It was a bit surreal, even though this man didn't look a ton like my Dad, there were things about him that reminded me of him.  That's happened a few times and a flood of memories come back, and I miss him so all over again.

While we were finishing our meal, he came over to our table and said, "Now this table looks like a fun group of people" and he gave each of us a yellow Round Tuit.  He and his wife smiled and walked out of the restaurant.  That was about the coolest thing I've had happen in a long time.  I'm now keeping my Round Tuit in my car console so that every time I get in, I think of my Dad.