The Simba Syndrome - Sermon Recap

This Sunday I used the movie The Lion King as a way to talk about our identity in Christ. Here's a brief synopsis:

The heart of the movie centers around Simba wrestling with his identity. He is king of pride rock, but after believing he is responsible for his father's death, he runs away. The reality is that he is still the king, he's just not living into his kingship.

Along his journey there are several people who remind of who he is because of whose he his. He is the rightful king because his father Mufasa was the king. There is a distance for Simba between who he actually is (the king) and how he is living his life (not as a king).

It reminds me of how some of us who claim to be Jesus followers often find ourselves living. The reality is: if you have said yes to Jesus as your Lord and your Savior, you are a redeemed, reconciled, victorious, holy, loved and claimed new creation in Christ. That’s who you are because of whose you are.    

You are who you are because of whose you are. 

Yet we often live believing that we are something we are not. We often live defeated. We often live like we are alone. We often live like we can't do anything about our circumstances. We often live in guilt and shame. We live like we just have to let life happen to us instead of for us. And I’m here to tell you that you are your own Culture Creator. You have influence right where you are.  You are who you are because of whose you are and nothing can change that.

Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:12 "Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

We are God's chosen people, claimed by him, loved by Him and made righteous/holy by him. That's who you are and whose you are. Paul says with that truth in mind, be intentional about putting on love. Be intentional about being the kind of person who loves like Jesus loved.

That was the heart of the message, I also talk about the splachna...if your curious you can watch the full message here.