Yes I Wanna Build A Snowman

In the past few weeks, if you've ever been on Facebook/Twitter/Buzzfeed/the Internet/in contact with general civilization, then you've probably heard of Disney's latest magnum opus, "Frozen."

Olaf says hi

Reviews raved that it was on par with '90s masterpieces like The Lion King (this will always be my all-time favorite though!) and that the songs were so sing-able that "even 13- and 17-year-old teenage boys (i.e. my brothers) would miraculously join in with harmonious melodies" (they actually did sing the songs every day when I was home for break...and that was like 4 weeks of nonstop "do you wanna build a snowmaaaan").

Yeah...anyway...

For all its glittering animation and chart-topping tunes, the thing I want to bring up, however, is that "Frozen" actually sort of in an indirectly but creative way expressing the Gospel.

Yup.

The Gospel.

So here is the biggest thing I learned from "Frozen": Sacrificial love.

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

Anna gives up her life to save her sister Elsa from the villainous prince.  She loves Elsa so much that her love for her sister surpasses her own for herself. Whoa. That's sacrificial love.

And even Olaf seems to take on Christ-like qualities.  Towards the end of the movie, Anna's heart starts transforming nearly into ice (because Elsa accidentally struck her with an icy magical power).  So the ever chivalrous Olaf pulls her close to a fireplace to warm up...well, as you know, snow melts. But that doesn't stop Olaf from trying to save Anna, because "Some people are worth melting for."

While watching the movie, I thought about how Jesus gave up His own life to save us from our sins. 

To love is hard. To love is leaving you and your heart out in the open, unsure of what will happen next. To love is taking the risk that it can go unrequited.

But Jesus did just that. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).  We're liars and thieves; pride and arrogance render a crown on our heads; we are not perfect at all.

But despite all that, Jesus loved us so much that He gave up His life for us.  He died the death we should have died.

Let it sink in.

Let it change the way we think about love.

Let it thaw a frozen heart.

It will keep on thawing mine.

PS If you want to read more on faith + "Frozen", then check out this interesting article: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/25/disney-frozen-religious-allegory