From Hebrews 4
14Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Disney Pixar's "Up"
Dear friends, what happens when dreams change? What happens to your dream when the one who dreamt it with you is gone?
This was the situation for Mr. Carl Fredriksen. He is the best animated grumpy old man ever. Carl had one love, and that was his energetic wife Ellie. They had created a dream together, to travel to a certain point in South America when they had saved enough pennies. It was going to be an adventure. An adventure for two. They even started a book of adventures that had plenty of extra pages.
But as time went on, the car needed new tires. The house needed a new roof. Their dream was nickeled-and-dimed away. Finally, sadly, Ellie dies. (Carl's grumpiness really kicks in here, and for good reason). By the way, I triple-dog dare you to watch that opening sequence of the movie "Up" and come out of it with dry eyes.
In his lingering grief, Carl's world narrows around him, squeezes his understanding of self and neighbor until finally instead of cracking, he elevates. Carl and his house flee the stresses of life. He has attached hundreds of balloons filled with helium to his house, and literally floats away. He is on his way toward the adventure he and Ellie had spent their life planning.
Un-planned-for companions along the way make his adventure more complicated, and to make a long story very very short, Carl learns that he can create new adventures, especially since the first one wasn't going to work out. In fact his cherished book of Adventures had more entries than he knew. Before she died, Ellie had written there that she was thankful for every moment of that adventure of their life together. Now, she wrote, go make some of your own.
The writer of Hebrews lets us know there is One who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Christ. In EVERY respect, Jesus is able to sympathize with the death of our dreams, adventures never taken. In so doing, his death and resurrection become an adventure inside each of us. The wonder of it all, is the amazing array of unlikely companions we have now, with whom we dream.
"Joy is a net of love that can catch souls" (Mother Teresa)
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