“The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can touch the poison of hatred without being harmed. Since the beginnings of time, darkness thrives in the void, but will always yield to purified light.” – The lionturtle (from Avatar: The Last Airbender)

The whole show captured the very essence of the battle between good and evil. It depicted the relentless vestige of good, encapsulated within a motley crew, and how, plunged at the epicentre of an age of burgeoning evil; good still thrives insidiously. No matter how inexorable, or indomitable the evil may seem, all that is required is the unbending, and persevering seed of goodwill to swallow the goliath of darkness. Following Avatar Aang and his mates, the show has progressed over three seasons (or books: water, earth, fire) portraying Aang’s destiny to restore balance in the fictitious world.

I recently engaged with one of my friends on a interesting discussion on whether film/entertainment has to have a didactic value underpinning its plot. The conclusion we eventually came to was, “Let’s continue talking, as we walk to the SAC”. A thing which, eventually, slipped through the crevices of our minds. The gist of the conversation was, how I felt that in the film industry, so often, we see a disunity between films which serves to enlighten (mostly indie?), and that which purely entertain (think, hellboy, pan’s labyrinth, or some chick flick). The advent of film as a form of entertainment, was solely based on its function to.. entertain. However, I believe that when a film of superior entertainment value eclipse with an undercurrent of cause and belief, the creativity of man is apotheosized. And Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, is one such piece of work. I really wished I was part of the birthing of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko’s brainchild. I believe that dumping a story on an audience, without providing an avenue to become enlightened in one way or another, will leave them with a slight jarring and clueless feeling as they walk out of the theatre, back into reality.

So what have I seen in avatar that mirrors my world. The aforementioned quote by the colossal lion turtle (Which carries a moving island on top of its shell) really spoke to me. In the past few days, with Uncle Ed’s prayer for me on Sunday. I’ve been trying to get back on track. He quoted me the verse from Rev. 2:4. Which was the exact verse that got me back to God, after a phase of rebellion last year. And God has been showing me friends who needs His Love and Guidance, and avenues through which I could shine His Light in this world. And I remembered hearing Romans on my dad’s car, and I felt an expansion of my chest, and I gained a new understanding of my identity as a Child of God, bought from death by Jesus’ Blood (“Jesus condmened sin in the flesh”). “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”" (Romans 8:15) However, I kept facing the difficulty of keeping the equilibrium within my mind; at one point, I feel enlightened, and above the worldly matters, and I walk, breathe, and talk like a Child of God. The next, I am knocked off by the desires of the flesh and soul, and temptation from the Enemy. (tripartite nature of man: flesh, soul, spirit. It used to be spirit, soul, flesh, but after we sinned the order switched, not that God is Trinity.) But indeed the true mind, and the true heart, can weather all these. They can come into contact with the poisonous precepts of this world, and remain “unharmed”. (The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; (Rom 8:4),Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23))

When Avatar Aang was set free from the iceberg by Kitara, and Sokka. He was birthed into a world of great evil, and imbalance. We live in a “crooked and depraved generation” (Phil 2:15), where “Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains.” (Psalms 107:10), like the subjugated nations under the fire empire. Just as Aang strives against the firelord, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12) We fight against dark forces which attempt to deceive, and lure us into drunkardness; to make us forget our positions as Children of God, who are awaiting the redemption of our glorious bodies, and emancipation from this decaying, sinful, flesh. As it is written, ” 39All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: “The first man Adam (Adam) became a living being; the last Adam (Jesus), a life-giving spirit.” (1 Corinthians 15:39-45), and, “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:23)

These forces fight against us with the weapons of values that are antipodal from God’s. They attempt to distance us and God, and condemn us before God’s throne of grace. That is why Satan is called the “father of lies”, and the “accuser”. They attack God by hurting His Heart, indirectly through our disobedience, and mutation from His likeness (Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Gen 1:26). As God is Light, He cannot come near the sinful man.

In the show, Avatar Aang and his friends uses elemental bending, to besiege the firelord and his forces. God gave us, a different sort of weapon. “3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Our weapon, is: “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:1-17) The war that a Christian fight individually is the one in His/Her mind. (“5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man[a] is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind[b] is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” (Romans 8:5-7.) Satan manipulates the desire of the flesh, through his “flaming arrows” (Eph 6:16) of stumbling lies to blind man. This is the battle that Christians fight on an individual realm.

Subsequently there is the war fought by the Christian against the “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” to win prisoners, back from Satan’s clutches, and powerful lies, into the Truth of God, and His Kingdom, as a child and soldier of God, delivered by the blood of Jesus.

An aspect of Avatar Aang that piqued my interest is his avatar state. It is the state he enters under extreme physical and emotional distress, where he will send a psychic pulse to his spirit that will trigger the state. In this state, Aang calls on the powers and experiences of all the past avatars before him. If He died in the avatar state, the reincarnation cycle of avatars will cease. This is almost the same as Christians and the Holy Spirit. When Christ left, He sent the Holy Spirit down to live within the hearts of men. “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ”. Romans 8:9. Aang often call upon his previous lives Avatar Roku etc, for advice and counsel. Jesus said that “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Also when Aang is under attack the avatar state, consisting of his past powers and experiences are called to him. When the Enemy chooses to opress or attack Christians, the Spirit of God will strengthen us. “When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.” (Isaiah 59:19)

As Christians, we are the body of Christ. “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Just as Aang has his friends, water-bender kitara, and her ingenious brother sokka, and Toff the blind earth-bender girl, We have our brothers and sisters in Christ. Each one of us are gifted in different ways, and advance God’s Kingdom in our destined roles, like how each character has a different destiny to fulfill in the restoring of balance. As Christians, we are given the Great Commision (Aang’s mission is to defeat the firelord) to spread the gospel, of Jesus’s deliverance of us from our sins, in this present dark age where “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” We are the Light of God.

Lastly, as Aang triumped the firelord, and overcame evil with good by quelling the firelord’s firebending abilities. (“Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” Romans 12:21) In the exact same way, when we have perservered, and finished the race, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” Romans 16:20

I have said what I wanted to say. This is like a summary of the original Christian perspective, and framework on life. I’d like to end with a warning. For myself, and for my brothers and sisters in Christ. ” 4For certain men whose condemnation was written about[a] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. 5Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord[b] delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.” (Jude 1:4-6)

Christian living is an adventure,
Vbec

P.S. If you want to watch avatar, it’s available on www.avatarchapters.org

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