**SPOILER ALERT**
Darth Vader (aka Anakin Skywalker) is one of my favorite iconic pop culture figures of all time! His introduction was arguably one of the first times the bad guy was more popular than the heroes. The fact that the man that was responsible for so much evil was once a Jedi—you know the Jedi, the guys whose life purpose is to serve others, keep the galactic peace, and so on became the galaxies worst war criminal. Despite him having a Jesus birth (born of a virgin,) he was a bad mama-jama. I’m talking about when he Force choked the Imperial Officer on the Death Star in front of all the generals for disrespecting his belief (which was awesome-sauce!) Not to mention his epic voice! One of the most memorable acts of villainy (to me) was close to the end of “Rogue One” where Vader Force choked all those Rebel guards, Force throwing them, Force crushing them, and then slicing them with his red light saber. WOW! I was so excited, I peed a tiny bit.
Vader was a man tormented by what he was destined for and what he wanted. You see, many thought he would bring balance to the Force. Qui-Gon Jinn and others thought he was the Chosen One, but Anakin’s fear of leaving his mother on Tatooine (who later got killed by Sand People,) was a stumbling block for him, compounded by his later forbidden love relationship with Padmé/Queen Amidala. We can’t forget that he was also very misled and manipulated by Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious for years. Now fast-forward 20 years to where Vader’s son, Luke, saw the good in him and wouldn’t even fight back. Luke was willing to die for what he felt his father could be. That hope was the spark Vader needed. You see, he did become what he was destined for. He eventually did bring balance to the Force by killing Darth Sidious, but it cost him his life. His Force ghost was even there at the end of “Return of the Jedi,” showing he had turned to the Light Side, even if only in his last moments. Vader was created for something great, and though he took a detour—a really big, evil, destructive, dark, genocidal detour—he accomplished it anyways.
Jesus told a story very similar to Anakin’s. It too was about a man that had the potential for a great life ahead of him. In Christ’s parable, the man chose to collect his inheritance from his father and leave on adventures. The Bible says “…he squandered his wealth in wild living,” Luke 15:13. Naturally, he ran out of money in a country that was not his own, and ended up being homeless. The Bible says, “…he worked among the pigs and yearned to eat what the pigs were eating,” Luke 15:15-16. In other words, his life wasn’t what his father or he had planned. When he came to his senses and returned to his father’s land, he was expecting to either be rejected or treated no different than his father’s servants. I imagine he was thinking the worst and, if we are being honest, the worst is what he deserved. Instead, what he got was a father that was ecstatic to see his son, so much so that the father threw a huge party in the son’s honor. However, the older brother was not okay with his brother being welcomed back and openly showed his disapproval of their father’s actions. Again, if we are honest, we generally act more like the older brother, while at the same time we are the lost son wanting the forgiveness of the father.
All through the Bible, God tells of forgiveness for our sinful actions or our bad choices. In fact, Romans 8:1 goes so far as to say that “there is no more condemnation for those that live in Christ.” You see, the older son was not happy; he says to his father that “…I have done all that was asked of me, my younger brother squandered his life on wild living, and here you are Dad, throwing him a party,” Luke 15:29-30. Jesus tells of another story like this in Matthew 20:1-16 about workers who worked all day and a man that only worked an hour but got the same pay (verse 12.) It’s safe to say that the workers that were there all day were not happy. The man who paid all the workers told the unhappy ones “what business is it of yours how I pay others?” (verse 13-15 paraphrased.) Jesus told these stories as a representation of those of us who believe in Christ and have eternal life. No matter if we have been following Him most of our lives or have lived a life without Jesus until the last few moments, we all get the gift of Christ if we believe in Him. Like Vader who was bad 80% of his life but fulfilled his destiny in his last few moments, God is always ecstatic when we choose to trust and follow Him regardless of what we have done previously. Just like Anakin, we all have a destiny with God, but we don’t always show it or live it. Sadly, the Bible says that most of us will not pursue our God-given destiny, but rather fight against God’s plans for us.
Whether we follow Him from the beginning or at the end of our life, there will be a party in heaven for all who believe! Trust in Jesus and you can bring balance to the Force.
Vader was a man tormented by what he was destined for and what he wanted. You see, many thought he would bring balance to the Force. Qui-Gon Jinn and others thought he was the Chosen One, but Anakin’s fear of leaving his mother on Tatooine (who later got killed by Sand People,) was a stumbling block for him, compounded by his later forbidden love relationship with Padmé/Queen Amidala. We can’t forget that he was also very misled and manipulated by Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious for years. Now fast-forward 20 years to where Vader’s son, Luke, saw the good in him and wouldn’t even fight back. Luke was willing to die for what he felt his father could be. That hope was the spark Vader needed. You see, he did become what he was destined for. He eventually did bring balance to the Force by killing Darth Sidious, but it cost him his life. His Force ghost was even there at the end of “Return of the Jedi,” showing he had turned to the Light Side, even if only in his last moments. Vader was created for something great, and though he took a detour—a really big, evil, destructive, dark, genocidal detour—he accomplished it anyways.
Jesus told a story very similar to Anakin’s. It too was about a man that had the potential for a great life ahead of him. In Christ’s parable, the man chose to collect his inheritance from his father and leave on adventures. The Bible says “…he squandered his wealth in wild living,” Luke 15:13. Naturally, he ran out of money in a country that was not his own, and ended up being homeless. The Bible says, “…he worked among the pigs and yearned to eat what the pigs were eating,” Luke 15:15-16. In other words, his life wasn’t what his father or he had planned. When he came to his senses and returned to his father’s land, he was expecting to either be rejected or treated no different than his father’s servants. I imagine he was thinking the worst and, if we are being honest, the worst is what he deserved. Instead, what he got was a father that was ecstatic to see his son, so much so that the father threw a huge party in the son’s honor. However, the older brother was not okay with his brother being welcomed back and openly showed his disapproval of their father’s actions. Again, if we are honest, we generally act more like the older brother, while at the same time we are the lost son wanting the forgiveness of the father.
All through the Bible, God tells of forgiveness for our sinful actions or our bad choices. In fact, Romans 8:1 goes so far as to say that “there is no more condemnation for those that live in Christ.” You see, the older son was not happy; he says to his father that “…I have done all that was asked of me, my younger brother squandered his life on wild living, and here you are Dad, throwing him a party,” Luke 15:29-30. Jesus tells of another story like this in Matthew 20:1-16 about workers who worked all day and a man that only worked an hour but got the same pay (verse 12.) It’s safe to say that the workers that were there all day were not happy. The man who paid all the workers told the unhappy ones “what business is it of yours how I pay others?” (verse 13-15 paraphrased.) Jesus told these stories as a representation of those of us who believe in Christ and have eternal life. No matter if we have been following Him most of our lives or have lived a life without Jesus until the last few moments, we all get the gift of Christ if we believe in Him. Like Vader who was bad 80% of his life but fulfilled his destiny in his last few moments, God is always ecstatic when we choose to trust and follow Him regardless of what we have done previously. Just like Anakin, we all have a destiny with God, but we don’t always show it or live it. Sadly, the Bible says that most of us will not pursue our God-given destiny, but rather fight against God’s plans for us.
Whether we follow Him from the beginning or at the end of our life, there will be a party in heaven for all who believe!
Trust in Jesus and you can bring balance to the Force.
Darth Vader (aka Anakin Skywalker) is one of my favorite iconic pop culture figures of all time! His introduction was arguably one of the first times the bad guy was more popular than the heroes. The fact that the man that was responsible for so much evil was once a Jedi—you know the Jedi, the guys whose life purpose is to serve others, keep the galactic peace, and so on became the galaxies worst war criminal. Despite him having a Jesus birth (born of a virgin,) he was a bad mama-jama. I’m talking about when he Force choked the Imperial Officer on the Death Star in front of all the generals for disrespecting his belief (which was awesome-sauce!) Not to mention his epic voice! One of the most memorable acts of villainy (to me) was close to the end of “Rogue One” where Vader Force choked all those Rebel guards, Force throwing them, Force crushing them, and then slicing them with his red light saber. WOW! I was so excited, I peed a tiny bit.
Vader was a man tormented by what he was destined for and what he wanted. You see, many thought he would bring balance to the Force. Qui-Gon Jinn and others thought he was the Chosen One, but Anakin’s fear of leaving his mother on Tatooine (who later got killed by Sand People,) was a stumbling block for him, compounded by his later forbidden love relationship with Padmé/Queen Amidala. We can’t forget that he was also very misled and manipulated by Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious for years. Now fast-forward 20 years to where Vader’s son, Luke, saw the good in him and wouldn’t even fight back. Luke was willing to die for what he felt his father could be. That hope was the spark Vader needed. You see, he did become what he was destined for. He eventually did bring balance to the Force by killing Darth Sidious, but it cost him his life. His Force ghost was even there at the end of “Return of the Jedi,” showing he had turned to the Light Side, even if only in his last moments. Vader was created for something great, and though he took a detour—a really big, evil, destructive, dark, genocidal detour—he accomplished it anyways.
Jesus told a story very similar to Anakin’s. It too was about a man that had the potential for a great life ahead of him. In Christ’s parable, the man chose to collect his inheritance from his father and leave on adventures. The Bible says “…he squandered his wealth in wild living,” Luke 15:13. Naturally, he ran out of money in a country that was not his own, and ended up being homeless. The Bible says, “…he worked among the pigs and yearned to eat what the pigs were eating,” Luke 15:15-16. In other words, his life wasn’t what his father or he had planned. When he came to his senses and returned to his father’s land, he was expecting to either be rejected or treated no different than his father’s servants. I imagine he was thinking the worst and, if we are being honest, the worst is what he deserved. Instead, what he got was a father that was ecstatic to see his son, so much so that the father threw a huge party in the son’s honor. However, the older brother was not okay with his brother being welcomed back and openly showed his disapproval of their father’s actions. Again, if we are honest, we generally act more like the older brother, while at the same time we are the lost son wanting the forgiveness of the father.
All through the Bible, God tells of forgiveness for our sinful actions or our bad choices. In fact, Romans 8:1 goes so far as to say that “there is no more condemnation for those that live in Christ.” You see, the older son was not happy; he says to his father that “…I have done all that was asked of me, my younger brother squandered his life on wild living, and here you are Dad, throwing him a party,” Luke 15:29-30. Jesus tells of another story like this in Matthew 20:1-16 about workers who worked all day and a man that only worked an hour but got the same pay (verse 12.) It’s safe to say that the workers that were there all day were not happy. The man who paid all the workers told the unhappy ones “what business is it of yours how I pay others?” (verse 13-15 paraphrased.) Jesus told these stories as a representation of those of us who believe in Christ and have eternal life. No matter if we have been following Him most of our lives or have lived a life without Jesus until the last few moments, we all get the gift of Christ if we believe in Him. Like Vader who was bad 80% of his life but fulfilled his destiny in his last few moments, God is always ecstatic when we choose to trust and follow Him regardless of what we have done previously. Just like Anakin, we all have a destiny with God, but we don’t always show it or live it. Sadly, the Bible says that most of us will not pursue our God-given destiny, but rather fight against God’s plans for us.
Whether we follow Him from the beginning or at the end of our life, there will be a party in heaven for all who believe! Trust in Jesus and you can bring balance to the Force.
Vader was a man tormented by what he was destined for and what he wanted. You see, many thought he would bring balance to the Force. Qui-Gon Jinn and others thought he was the Chosen One, but Anakin’s fear of leaving his mother on Tatooine (who later got killed by Sand People,) was a stumbling block for him, compounded by his later forbidden love relationship with Padmé/Queen Amidala. We can’t forget that he was also very misled and manipulated by Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious for years. Now fast-forward 20 years to where Vader’s son, Luke, saw the good in him and wouldn’t even fight back. Luke was willing to die for what he felt his father could be. That hope was the spark Vader needed. You see, he did become what he was destined for. He eventually did bring balance to the Force by killing Darth Sidious, but it cost him his life. His Force ghost was even there at the end of “Return of the Jedi,” showing he had turned to the Light Side, even if only in his last moments. Vader was created for something great, and though he took a detour—a really big, evil, destructive, dark, genocidal detour—he accomplished it anyways.
Jesus told a story very similar to Anakin’s. It too was about a man that had the potential for a great life ahead of him. In Christ’s parable, the man chose to collect his inheritance from his father and leave on adventures. The Bible says “…he squandered his wealth in wild living,” Luke 15:13. Naturally, he ran out of money in a country that was not his own, and ended up being homeless. The Bible says, “…he worked among the pigs and yearned to eat what the pigs were eating,” Luke 15:15-16. In other words, his life wasn’t what his father or he had planned. When he came to his senses and returned to his father’s land, he was expecting to either be rejected or treated no different than his father’s servants. I imagine he was thinking the worst and, if we are being honest, the worst is what he deserved. Instead, what he got was a father that was ecstatic to see his son, so much so that the father threw a huge party in the son’s honor. However, the older brother was not okay with his brother being welcomed back and openly showed his disapproval of their father’s actions. Again, if we are honest, we generally act more like the older brother, while at the same time we are the lost son wanting the forgiveness of the father.
All through the Bible, God tells of forgiveness for our sinful actions or our bad choices. In fact, Romans 8:1 goes so far as to say that “there is no more condemnation for those that live in Christ.” You see, the older son was not happy; he says to his father that “…I have done all that was asked of me, my younger brother squandered his life on wild living, and here you are Dad, throwing him a party,” Luke 15:29-30. Jesus tells of another story like this in Matthew 20:1-16 about workers who worked all day and a man that only worked an hour but got the same pay (verse 12.) It’s safe to say that the workers that were there all day were not happy. The man who paid all the workers told the unhappy ones “what business is it of yours how I pay others?” (verse 13-15 paraphrased.) Jesus told these stories as a representation of those of us who believe in Christ and have eternal life. No matter if we have been following Him most of our lives or have lived a life without Jesus until the last few moments, we all get the gift of Christ if we believe in Him. Like Vader who was bad 80% of his life but fulfilled his destiny in his last few moments, God is always ecstatic when we choose to trust and follow Him regardless of what we have done previously. Just like Anakin, we all have a destiny with God, but we don’t always show it or live it. Sadly, the Bible says that most of us will not pursue our God-given destiny, but rather fight against God’s plans for us.
Whether we follow Him from the beginning or at the end of our life, there will be a party in heaven for all who believe!
Trust in Jesus and you can bring balance to the Force.