The Flash
Years ago I had a guilty pleasure in the super hero genre: The Flash. Judge me if you will, but the Flash checked a lot of boxes: good guys that (almost) always won the day, relationships that matured and grew over time, family values, true love, strong characters (including less-represented people groups), cool outfits, science, exciting action without egregious violence, and drama that resolved over a reasonable amount of time (mostly). It was just plain fun.
But during an episode of The Flash I had a sudden realization: there was no God in this story. As soon as my eyes were open to this, I saw it everywhere. I could not un-see it. This realization left a deep sadness in me that I could not shake so I stopped watching the show. The Flash’s universe only had “bigger” entities than the hero and none of the “bigger” entities were anything like God. None of them were loving or all-powerful. None of them knew what was going on and none of them had a overall plan for good. There was no hope of heaven. There was no purpose but to survive until the next challenge appeared.
The next realization that came to me was: I had been seeking refuge in this show and it fell woefully short. I was trying to press the weight of my soul onto a made-up story about a God-less universe. All of my trauma, all of the cares of my day, all of my anxiety about not being the friend/sister/daughter/pet owner/wife I wanted to be, all of my fear of insignificance.
It seems so silly now. Of course a fictional story cannot bear the weight of my soul! It was never meant to.
There are good and beautiful things in this world that we can enjoy while we are here. There are some very compelling and uplifting stories that have been written. But none of them can satisfy or provide refuge for long if we just consume them like drugs. None of them were meant to bear the weight of our souls, friend. The only way we can experience satisfaction and be sheltered is to receive the gifts of beauty and good from God with gratitude, not apart from Him.
Let’s seek refuge in Him.
