The Lion King and the Gospel

Every time I watch The Lion King, I cannot help but see the parallels to the gospel and the kingdom of God. God was the first and original Storyteller and we see iterations of His story in other stories. The Lion King is one of them.

We can relate to wanting to be “king” and do things our own way. We know what it feels like to experience the guilt and shame of bad decisions we’ve made, painful things people have done to us, and situations we’ve found ourselves in. We are familiar with the strategy of the enemy who twists the truth, tells us a different story, and, ultimately, suggests that we hide and run far away from all of it. We understand the difficulty of having to look back on our past, own what is ours to own, and let go of whatever false accusations (however familiar they’ve become) that the enemy has taught us to believe. We know the joy and purpose that we find when we return to our rightful place, to who we are, as children of God.

Mufasa says, “You have forgotten who you are, and so forgotten me.” When we forget God, we forget ourselves. We lose touch with who we actually are, who we are created to be, what we are purposed to do.

This is the gospel. This is God’s heart for all of us. He loves you and wants to draw you to His heart and His ways. Not simply to take away your desires and wants, but to align you with His, which are far better than you could imagine for yourself. He demonstrated this love by sending his son Jesus who lived a life worth following, died in our place, and defeated death so we could experience the fullness of life and have nothing to fear.

And I want you to know - this is what God offers *you.* The offer has been and always will be on the table.