Monday, December 04, 2017

Moana and the Truth: I know Who You Are


 
"I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat, sail across the ocean, and restore the heart of Te Fiti."

This is the prepared speech that Moana intends to deliver with confidence and force to the demi-god, Maui. And she does. 

And she IS Moana . . . but at this point in the movie our little Heroine is admirable and inspiring, but she hasn't really figured out Who she is.

At the pinnacle of the film . . . all of her experiences and all that she has seen and learned sink in and add up.

After utter failure and complete defeat, she sings:

Who am I?
I am a girl who loves my island
I'm the girl who loves the sea
It calls me
I am the daughter of the village chief
We are descended from voyagers
Who found their way across the world
They call me
I've delivered us to where we are
I have journeyed farther
I am everything I've learned and more
Still it calls me
And the call isn't out there at all, it's inside me
It's like the tide; always falling and rising
I will carry you here in my heart you'll remind me
That come what may
I know the way
I am Moana! 


And she IS Moana. She has finally realized who she is. She has finally become who she is. And that knowledge will be the key to completing her Quest.

She courageously resumes her journey to restore the heart of Te Fiti so that her island and its people can be saved.

But first she must destroy the monstrous Guardian, Te Ka.

In the middle of a battle that she is losing, Moana see's through everything.

"I know who YOU ARE!"

*Spoiler Alert!!

Do not read further if you have not seen the movie!

Te Ka . . . is really Te Fiti.



When I find out Who I am . . . it can open the door that may enable me to know Who YOU ARE.

Maybe you are NOT my enemy.

Maybe we DON'T have to fight.

Maybe I don't have to destroy you, or you don't have to destroy me.

If someone is contrary to you or in opposition . . . maybe they are not just wicked, or evil, or cruel. Maybe something has happened to their heart, something of which you are unaware. Hurting people are often angry and violent people. And it may be that no one knows who they really are . . . they are misunderstood.

Now, there IS Evil and Wickedness in the World, but we probably seldom face it. More often than not we need not slay the dragon or violently quench the fires of Te Ka.

Withholding our blows long enough to find out who our foes really are . . . may be important. But we will never know until we first find out . . . Who WE ARE.

Moana and the TRUTH that makes you FREE



In John 8:32 (in the fourth Gospel of the New Testament) Jesus said that The Truth would make us FREE.

I don't believe that He meant that we would find ultimate Freedom and Liberation in information that is True, or facts that are True, or dogma and decrees that are True.

There ARE Truths in Doctrines, Teachings, Lessons, and Messages that can be inspirational and instructive. They can be life-changing and certainly liberating.

We are blessed if we discover words that are True in Advice, Counsel, and the Verbal Guidance of the Wise.

You might find Truth or principles of Life that are True in a Sermon, or a Song, in a Book, or a Movie. But you will not find the TRUTH that Jesus was talking about directly from those sources.

In the same Gospel Record (John 14:6), Jesus stated flatly that HE was the TRUTH.

You may not choose to believe it or accept it . . . but Christians believe that knowing Jesus is the only thing that brings ultimate, eternal FREEDOM . . . and salvation. We believe that because that is what He taught us.

The life that our Creator offers is not just for those who are most correct, those who adhere to the best knowledge, those who are the most Orthodox in their belief systems and Theologies. 

We would like to believe, and to be able to convince others that we are smarter than they are and that we alone have the real revealed information. We have insider information. We have feasted from the Tree of Knowledge and we have figured out all verity. The Facts. 

Let me tell you what I believe: It's not what you know - It's WHOM you know that matters.

When you finally get FREE from this world and you are to pass into the next - you will not be given an entrance exam to fill in the blanks correctly or check the right multiple choices. You will be asked for a password.

"Jesus sent me."

I think that is true . . . HE is The TRUTH . . . and you will never get HIM or a working substitute for HIM from a book, or a song, a message, or a movie.