Being the Soldier.

    In Costa Rica and in Panama, we did a drama called, “Spellbound”. “Spellbound” puts the story of the Gospel into terms that everyone can understand. It starts out with a toymaker and his son who created two toys. These toys were persuaded by the Evil Magician to eat from a tree that The Toymaker and his Son told them not too. This created a barrier of sin between the toys and The Toymaker. The Toymaker continued to make toys, but they were still separated from the Toymaker. The toys were all tempted by the Evil Magician, because of the separation. This created chaos. A group of cats came and beat up the toys leaving them broken and sad. The Toymaker then decided to send his son beyond the barrier to help the toys. The Son was then born to a toy, the Spanish Dancer, and grew up to fulfill his father’s plan. He went to the toys, and fixed the ones that were broken. Soon after he was betrayed by one of the toys, and the cats came and nailed him to a cross. The son died, but to the Evil Magician’s dismay, came back to life. Some of the toys accepted him and moved beyond the barrier to be with the Toymaker, but others rejected the Son and didn’t get to be with the Toymaker.

    This year, I had the privilege of playing the part of the Soldier. I absolutely loved it. There were certain attributes of the Soldier that I want to apply to my life. The soldier was a toy just like the others, but the soldier stood out.

    The Soldier was BRAVE. When the cats came in wreaking havoc, the Soldier stood up to them. The Soldier tried to fight against the darkness. He ended up getting his leg broken in the process, but he still fought.

    The Soldier BELIEVED. When the Toymaker’s son came to the toys, he began to fix the brokenness in the toys. The Soldier had faith that he could be fixed by the Toymaker's son. He believed that the Toymaker's son was the real thing. 

    The Soldier was COMPASSIONATE. When the Toymaker's son died, the Spanish Dancer was heartbroken. The Soldier saw that she had a need and comforted her. The soldier didn't just leave her there to cry, he had compassion on her. He helped her. He showed the love that we should all show to others.

    The Soldier ACCEPTED. When the Toymaker's son came to the Soldier, the Soldier accepted him. He didn't reject him. He knew that the Toymaker's son was somebody special. He knew that he was who he said he was. The Soldier knew that he couldn't do it on his own. He needed the one who made him. 

    This is the Gospel. We were in sin, and God sent his son to save us. We need to BELIEVE, and we need to ACCEPT him. Once we do that we can answer his call. To love his children with his love. We need to be COMPASSIONATE and BRAVE. We need to fight against the darkness no matter what the cost. I have scars from being the Soldier in the drama, but that didn't stop me from being the soldier. Life leaves us with scars. Life beats us down and tries to break us. We can't let that stop us from living fully for Christ. We can't let the bumps and bruises stop us in our tracks. We need to continue to live big, live love, live real, and live life. 

BE THE SOLDIER.