There is a scene near the end of the film Anna and the King…let me describe it. The setting is nineteenth-century Siam, a tiny but beautiful Asian country still in the grips of its ancient past. Anna, an English woman living in Siam as a tutor to the king’s many offspring, has helped King Mangkut prepare for a state dinner. He wants to show the British that his country is ready to enter into the affairs of the world, so the dinner is given in the English style – silverware, tablecloths, candlelight, and, at the end of the meal, ballroom dancing.
When the feast is over and it comes time for the dance, the king stands and extends his hand to Anna. He invites her to dance with him. He fixes his gaze upon her and is distracted by nothing and no one else. He waits for her response. She is clearly surprised, taken aback, but has the grace to respond and stand. As they walk past the long table, the king’s eyes never stray from hers, a smile playing on his lips. Others are upset that he has chosen her. Some watch with contempt, others with pleasure. It is of no consequence to the king or to Anna.
Anna came to the ball prepared. She was beautiful in a striking gown that shimmered like starlight. She spent hours getting herself ready – her hair, her dress, her heart. As they reach the dance floor, Anna expresses her fear of dancing with the King before the eyes of others. “We wouldn’t want to end up in a heap,” she says. His answer to her questioning heart? “I am King. I will lead.”
Jesus is extending his hand to you. He is inviting you to dance with him. He asks, “May I have this dance. . . every day of your life?” His gaze is fixed on you. He is captivated by your beauty. He is smiling. He cares nothing of the opinion of others. He is standing. He will lead. He waits for your response.
‘My lover spoke and said to me,“Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me”’ Song 2:10
This week I decided to pick up the book Captivating and read through it again. This excerpt captured the beauty of the story from the film (Anna and the King) and the story of our own lives in Christ. After reading this book for the first time, two years ago, I was left with an awakened responsiveness and even a new awareness towards the heart of God and this beautiful romance that He beckons each of us to be apart of.
In the world we are living in today, our perception can become so compromised from being surrounded by the deceptive images of beauty that the world has fabricated and thrown in front of us. For girls especially, finding their identity is challenging enough and when they don’t recognize that their identity has to be found in God, they easily accept those images of beauty, perfection, and acceptance. They accept this as the mark they have to meet, the image they have to become. Through this distorted vision they desperately seek to find their worth, to find their role in this world. Inevitably they are left with an even deeper desperation because the world cannot, and will never be able to fill that God-shaped hole in our lives, a hole that only the Father can fill.
As I am continually discovering a deeper identity in Christ, I still have to diligently guard my heart and my mind against those lies about what the world believes is acceptable, beautiful, and even worthy.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will” Romans 12:2
It’s unbelievable how these lies are shaping a mold that people left and right are trying to conform to, a mold that they are trying to fit into. Sadly, none of them realize that they are trying to fit into this mold, this role, this image, that they were not created for. God created each of us to fill an irreplaceable role, one that no one else could fill; no one but you.
“Of course this is scary. Responding to the invitations of Jesus often feels like the riskiest thing we’ve ever done. The life of the friends of God is a life of profound risk. The risk of loving others. The risk of stepping our and offering, speaking up and following our God-given dreams. The risk of playing the irreplaceable role that it yours to play. Of course it is hard. If it were easy, you’d see lots of people living this way. How it turns out is no longer the point. Living this way, as people who are alive, is a choice we make because it is the person we want to be. It is our loving response to our Lover’s invitation”“If you are called, God will make a way. Either where you are or through a change of circumstances. Follow your Lover; respond to his invitations. With him, there is no stopping you”
How else do we respond when God speaks to us and says, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me”. Total and complete surrender. Trust. Acceptance to the invitation that He is giving us. This is our loving response; our answer to the call He has for each of our lives, to play the irreplaceable role He has given us.
1 comment:
amen! great thoughts! thanks for sharing :) found you via the wiegands xo
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