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Article Archive |
2007
TRANSFORMERS
by Jim Morris
My 10-year-old son, Josh, went through the house singing the theme song of his favorite animated film, "Transformers." With a look of fierce determination, he would sing the song, pause in mid-stride, and strike a pose like his hero Optimus Prime.
The transformers were living machines that could transform from human looking shapes to those of large vehicles, planes or other common objects. The main difference between them was that the Autobots were good and the Decepticons were bad. As a dad, it was difficult for me to distinguish. After watching the show with my son I started to pick up on the critical differences. The essence of their ongoing struggle was summed up in what I remember from the song:
"Transformers,
more than meets the eye,
Autobots, Decepticons,
fighting in the sky!"
Think for a second. Can you tell whether someone is a real Christian, or not? Of course, it is easy to look at the surface and distinguish a person from a dog or a hog. But can you tell that the person belongs to Jesus? It would probably be easier to discern between an Autobot or a Decepticon!
When I saw the Transformer animation for the first time, I could tell that they were all robots of some kind. They all had different shapes and could transform into different vehicles. I could tell which vehicles were Transformers and which ones were ordinary. However, I could not tell the Autobots from the Decepticons.
The apostle Paul shows us how obvious it should be for Christians to stand out in the crowd. The Christians at Corinth did not fully understand the transformation that was inseparably linked with the gospel taught by the apostles. In fact, Paul defended his ministry to them, saying, "Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?" (1 Cor. 3:1). In other words, "Can't you tell that we are the good guys who belong to Jesus?"
Josh asked me impatiently, "Dad, can't you tell who the good guys are? The Autobots are heroes who talk and act good. The Decepticons are pretenders who say bad things and hurt people."
I watched the show a little closer and the Autobots did speak kindly and acted heroically. I had to watch and listen closely to make out the differences, though. To see who belongs to Jesus we, too, must look and listen closely.
Paul advanced his argument by describing the Corinthians as "living letters of recommendation." He said, "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (3:2-3).
Do folks see you as an Autobot or Decepticon? Can they read you as a "letter from Christ"?
10-10-07
# 41
