The Incredibles (wrap up)

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands (2 Timothy 1:7).

. . . train yourself to be godly (1 Timothy 4:7).

When I was in seminary a pastor whom I very much admired tanked his ministry. Paul uses the term “shipwrecked.” I don’t know what happened – but he resigned his church, left his wife, and began selling funeral plans door to door.

My guess is that somehow, very gradually, he had started living Bob Parr’s life. He was getting by, moving from day to day cramped into a tiny little vehicle. The make and model of these suffocating boxes may vary widely. For this gifted preacher, the make and model that folded him up was called “pastor.” That, to me, is particularly sad.

I wonder if there was another way. Is it possible that this man could have salvaged something of his vocation and his family? Tragically, when we feel ourselves cramped and depleted by the lives we live, we often reason (or rationalize) our way to some wrong conclusions. We’re tempted to conclude that, in order to live with “power” and become our truest self, we must throw off every vestige of the confining life we’ve been living. But this isn’t the power or love or self discipline Paul spoke of to Timothy. Seeking this kind of power ironically leaves destruction in its trail – ruined careers, fractured families, disillusioned friends, scarred congregations.

My quest for gospel in The Incredibles begins to break down at this point. Bob Parr finally throws his irritating little boss through five or six walls. This necessitates a new career path of some kind, superhero or no. But the kind of abundance I’m interested in as a follower of Jesus isn’t obtained by stealing abundance from someone else. I return to the closing questions of my last post: what does it mean for us to live with power? How do we become the people God intends for us to be in the lives he’s given us right now? How do you live with power in the job your have today, among co-workers you’ll see again tomorrow, with family members who will be there when you wake up in the morning?

Holding Pixar’s brilliant movie up to the light of scripture, I find these answers.

First, we’ve got to know that there is an enemy and the stakes are high. Bob Parr did not re-discover his identity as Mr. Incredible simply because he was bored. There enters into the story a threat of horrible destruction, a spirit of malice, a figure who craves power but gives no thought to how it is used. This nemesis calls forth a person, a family, capable of putting up a fight. In the life of faith this is commonly called spiritual warfare. Too many Christians don’t take this seriously. It hasn’t occurred to them that there is an enemy actively seeking the destruction of their faith (1 Peter 5:8). What power they have lies dormant – a “super-suit” tucked away in the back of the closet.

Second, there is a need for rigorous training. One of the most amusing scenes in The Incredibles is the moment when Bob tries to fit into his super-suit after years of living a normal average guy life. He looks awful – flabby, bulging. Not the buff figure he once was. It isn’t enough to pull the suit out of the closet and put it on. We’ve got to be able to wear it well. And this requires training. Bob goes to work. Motivated by a need and a challenge, he lifts boxcars to get back in shape. Dallas Willard is dead-on when he says that living like Jesus isn’t something we simply choose to do in a moment of crisis. It’s something we are because of an overall way of life we’ve adopted. Athletes call this way of life “training.” Christians train by shaping life around the classic disciplines: prayer, worship, study, giving, etc. There is no power apart from training.

Third, we need to identify our particular gift, our God-given “power,” and put it to regular use. The Parr daughter, Violet, in her first battle experience, cannot generate an adequate force field to protect her family. After more engagement with the enemy, that changes. She becomes confident in her ability. Paul reminded Timothy to “fan into flame” the gift that had been imparted through the laying on of hands.

This leads to the fourth element of a powerful life of faith: a family. Mr. Incredible could not have prevailed against his enemy (“Syndrome”) alone. His particular gift – sheer physical strength – wasn’t enough. He needed every member of his family, including the youngest and seemingly weakest. They each had a gift that they brought to the fight. God gives us a gift and calls us to use it with in the context of a family, a community of faith. With every member using their God-given power, the gates of hell cannot prevail against God’s purpose and his ultimate victory in the world.

Finally, this power in which we are invited to live as followers of Jesus is really not our own. The fight isn’t ours either. The battle is the Lord’s, and somehow he sees fit to use us. He works through us in our weaknesses. In fact, when we are weak, he is strong. We know power as we decrease and allow him to increase. We don’t get to be the heroes. But we do get to participate in what God is doing.

And this is truly incredible.