As a kid, there were many things that sparked my imagination, but none so much as Star Wars. I was too young to see A New Hope in the theater, but I watched The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi on the big screen. From then on, as a kid, I dreamed of being a Jedi and having those supernatural powers that I had seen Luke Skywalker wield against the forces of darkness. Of course, the best that I could do to fulfill that dream was pretend that I had the ability to “use the Force.” There was a many a pine tree and shrub in the woods that felt the sting of my light-saber (a.k.a. stick, or club).
As an adult, ever since the X-Wing game came out for the PC, I have delved into the world of Star Wars to a degree that I never could have imagined as a kid, but to “use the Force” is still only virtually done in a digitized world. Despite the disappointment of this reality, “the Force” has remained a fictional source of fun for me to this day.
I have revisited the idea of this dream since I became a believer in Jesus Christ, because some of the things that I had dreamed of as a kid have been realized through my faith in Him, but not in a way that I ever would have expected or understood before. Please hear me out before you say, “This guy is nuts!” As a former atheist, die-hard Star Wars fan, and now a preacher, I believe that I am qualified to make a comparison between the fictional “force” and the real “force” that God can have on anyone’s life when he or she chooses to believe in Him.
In Episode III, Obiwan tells Anakin that “…only Sith deal in absolutes,” but he was absolutely convinced that the Dark Side was evil and that Anakin had become evil by embracing it. In reality, it is absolutely true that all humans are evil in the sight of God, which means that each of us do things that God says is wrong. God has absolutely defined right and wrong by His own standard, just like the Jedi did concerning what is of the “Light Side” or “Dark Side” of “the Force.” We have all done wrong, or in other words, sinned in the sight of God. The Bible says that “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NKJV).
The Jedi’s judgment on those falling to the “Dark Side” was death, just like God’s judgment is death on all those who have sinned. Death for Anakin as a Sith would be similar to the kind of death that sinners experience in reality, not the snuffing out of a life, but the separation in eternity of a person’s soul from all that is good forever. From this point on the fiction of Star Wars goes down a different plot line than the facts of the Bible. In the movies, Anakin survives as the ultimate traitor only to be personally saved from the consequences of his actions by doing the right thing in the end. In the reality of sin’s consequences with God, we can do nothing to save ourselves from the fate that we deserve. We can’t do anything good enough, even in the end, to be saved. The Bible makes this clear, saying that our salvation comes “…not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy…” (Titus 3:5a, NKJV). That is why the Bible also explains, “…the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NKJV) To summarize the difference, you could simply say that Anakin died to save himself, while Jesus died to save everyone else. Jesus alone could die in your place, taking your punishment of death, because He alone never sinned. Only God Himself could live a perfect life and so God Himself died to save you from the ultimate punishment. The Bible says that God “…made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV).
Anakin’s redemption does have one similarity with the real salvation that can be found only in Jesus Christ. Anakin was not saved from his fate unwillingly, but only through being willing to turn from his past life and possible future to embrace what was right and good. It is the same with finding salvation in Jesus Christ. There came a day when I turned my back on my past way of life and whatever future it would have brought, to embrace a future with Jesus Christ by faith. It was God’s “grace,” or “undeserved love,” for me that made it possible for me to be saved from my fate through simply believing in Him and asking Him to save my life. The Bible thankfully says that “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:9-13, NKJV).
I want to draw it all together with this thought. When someone in the movies embraced “the Force” and began to use it, they were able to do things that would have otherwise been impossible for them to do, not to mention that they went places that they never imagined they would go. It is similar with coming to really believe in Jesus Christ. When you embrace the truth of Jesus Christ by faith, God uses the force of your beliefs to not only save your life, but also to change your life. What you were never capable of before, such as being self-controlled and being truly satisfied in life, is suddenly possible for you on a daily basis. Life does not become a miracle movie of supernatural proportions, or a trouble-free existence, but rather an opportunity to experience God at work in and through your life. This personal “force” of faith in your life only comes through believing in Jesus and placing your life in His hands. The Bible promises that “…if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV).
I can say from personal experience that believing in Jesus Christ is life changing. No, my dreams of wielding “the Force” have not and will not come true, but God has given me new dreams of things much bigger and actually possible for me. That is why I must ask, “If God is with you, who needs the Force?” That is also why I say, "
To learn more about Him, go to www.needhim.org.
