Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't write yesterday... I really have no excuses, I was just lazy. So here is this week's post, a day late...
This week I've decided to take a look at the popular novel/movie, The Hunger Games. The second movie of the trilogy just came into theaters about a month and a half ago and is still quite popular among viewers of all ages!
The Hunger Games is about a society called Panem in which there are 12 districts that specialize in a specific product. After a mass upheaval years ago, the capitol now keeps a very close eye on the districts. In order to keep them "in line", the capitol created the annual Hunger Games, a game in which 2 member of each district (one male and one female) fight in an arena to the death. The last living player is crowned the winner and is given many rights & prizes as a result. Each year, to select the participants of the Hunger Games, each district holds a reaping which is similar to a raffle. Starting at the age of 12, everyone's name is placed into a gender-specific bowl and one name is drawn to compete in the games. After the district residents reach the age of 18, they are no longer forced to participate in the reaping. They can also choose to put their name in more times in exchange for food rations. The main character Katniss, volunteers after her little sister's name is chosen to participate in the Hunger Games and Peeta is chosen as the male tribute. The two embark on a journey to the capitol under the watchful eye of their mentor, Haymitch, the only other member of district 12 to win the Hunger games. While in the arena, Katniss and Peeta face many challenges, losses, love, and life/death situations which leave readers/viewers on the edge of their seats.
How does the Hunger Games relate to the bible?
Sacrifice. In the early part of the movie, Katniss volunteers for the Hunger Games to take the spot of her little sister Primrose knowing that her chances of survival were slim to none. Jesus did the exact same thing for us. He gave up His spot in HEAVEN to come down to earth and die for us. Jesus was in heaven... a place so glorious that we can't even begin to imagine it... and He came to earth.. a broken, sinful, land because He loved us. He came to die in our place so that we could be reconciled to God after the fall of man. What amazing love! Jesus came to earth knowing that He would be put to death... the most excruciatingly, painful kind of death at the time so we could be reconciled to God once more. And God was willing to give up his son... His one and only son to die for man. Every time I think about it, I fall more and more in love with our Heavenly Father! I just can't wrap my head around how much love He has for us that He would send His son to come from heaven to die. It's absolutely amazing and just continues to blow my mind.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, ESV)
Gifts. The capitol gets all of their goods from the various districts. Each district produces one good that they alone specialize in. For example, district 12 produces coal, district 1 produces luxury goods, etc. I blogged a little bit about this in last week's post but this is another perfect depiction of our spiritual gifts/talents. Each of us was given a gift by our Heavenly Father to use for His glory and the expanding of His kingdom. Some people may be blessed with the gift of leadership, others may have the gifts of knowledge or faith. But we all need to use what we have been given to further the kingdom. We need to not covet others gifts or downplay our own because each one of us has been given that gift from God.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. (1 Corinthians 12:1-11, ESV)
We need to use what God has given us to further the kingdom in any way we can!
Discipleship. When the tributes are chosen for the Hunger Games from the reaping, they are given past victors as mentors to help them train to compete. These mentors teach them all they know to try and help keep their tributes alive as long as possible whether it's survival skills, hunting techniques, or basic how-to's of the game, the mentors pass along as much as they can to their mentees. As the body of Christ, we have the same opportunity through discipleship. We have the ability to learn from older Christians in our lives/churches/communities how to become a disciple of Christ and have them walk with us on our walk with Christ. In Matthew 28, Jesus commands His disciples to:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)
Jesus tells His disciples to go make more disciples by taking others under their wings and helping them in their walks with Christ. The book of 2 Timothy is a wonderful example of discipleship in the church. Paul was writing a letter to his mentee, Timothy, passing along the gospel, reminding him of God's grace, telling him what he needs to do, and challenging him to continue passing along the gospel for as long as he lived. Discipleship is truly an amazing tool! In my fellowship at college I have been shown many tips for discipleship that have truly helped me when I disciple other girls in my life.
One of the tips I learned was look for FAT people. When I say FAT, I don't mean obese, FAT stands for: Faithful, Available, Teachable. If the person you're discipling is not a Faithful, Available, Teachable person, you may not have the most effective discipleship. I'm not saying don't pour time into those people, but I am saying that those people may not be the best people to pour all/the majority of your time into. Another tip that has really helped me in discipleship is the Love, Know, Speak, Do idea by Paul David Tripp. This idea is an effective way to disciple. The basic idea of Love, Know, Speak, Do is that you begin by loving the person and getting to know them. These two are the biggest pieces of the puzzle. After you love and know them, then you can begin to speak God's truth into their life. Finally, the smallest piece, we need to help them do (or apply) these truths to their lives/current situations. This model has proven to be very successful and I know it has helped when I have been discipled or when I have been discipling. Try it out and let me know how it works for you!
So, on the surface, the Hunger Games can just be seen as a typical Hollywood romance when the odds are stacked against them, but if you take a look beyond the surface, it can point us back to Christ! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Have a wonderful week and "May the odds be ever in your favor"!
God Bless,
Danielle
