“Is she dead?”
We spent part of our vacation with daughter Katie, husband Charlie, and their two boys, Drew and Jake. A sign hangs in the upstairs hallway of their home, “A boy is noise with dirt on it.” Perfect description! The boys, six and four-years-old, are forever presenting their parents with a challenge: How can we settle these whirling-dervishes down?
One answer was to watch Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” We grown-ups were struck by the scary presentation of evil. The wicked stepmother hates beautiful Snow White. Mixing a potion to transform herself into a most repulsive old witch, she deceives and poisons innocent Snow White. Now we see Snow White laid out on a funeral bier. Drew asks, “Is she dead?”
Because of our five grandchildren I watch a fair amount of children’s programming. Yes, they show problems and bad characters but, unlike that 1937 Disney movie, today’s children programming doesn’t present evil as something scary and repulsive. When we got home, I took out a hefty volume of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and those too are scary stories. What does this softer presentation say about us? A suburban child asks, “Is she dead?” I’m guessing an inner-city child would immediately know.
When we domesticate evil, do we thereby domesticate our need for salvation? Law and Gospel are two dynamics throughout the Bible. People outside of Jesus are totally under the Law with its threats and punishments for sin and evil. Followers of the Savior live under the Law too, we experience the consequences of sin and evil, but we’re not under its dominion. Our Lord, grace and goodness incarnate, leads us to purity. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” (Psalm 119:9-10)
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