Your eyes so full of wonder Your heart an innocent warrior There’s a task for you Our dearest one
The following is a transcript of a message that I wrote for Family Day 2022 at Whitby Christian. You can also watch the message above.
There’s a time in every meaningful journey where you wonder whether or not you’re really supposed to be the one completing it. And if you’re a person of faith, that wonder sometimes comes in the form of a question like this:
Of all the people on Earth that God could’ve chosen, why would He have chosen you?
Moana tackled this idea when it came out in 2016, and it was a major hit at the time.
Everyone these days is talking about Bruno - even though they’re not supposed to. But back when Moana was released, Elsa and Anna were still the Disney characters on everyone’s minds. Now, I’m not here to knock Frozen – and I have no intention of talking about its idea of self-discovery through the reckless abandonment of the family unit. We’re not going there today. Today, Family Day Sunday, we’re here to talk about what it means to be chosen as a part of God’s family. You see, in many ways, Moana’s story is a terrific analogy for what the life of a Christian is supposed to look like.
Chosen by the Ocean, Moana is given a responsibility that she feels ill-equipped for. However, the Ocean guides her every step of the way, putting the right people in her path and occasionally stepping in directly to assist her.
By the end of the film, Moana’s been a part of the Ocean’s plan to restore the heart of a lost soul – and in the process, Moana has learned who she really is. And that’s just talking broad strokes. There’s so much to unpack as we delve into that question I asked earlier. Did God really choose you? And if He did – why? As we look to God’s word to answer these questions, my prayer is that we’ll leave today with a renewed sense that each of us has been chosen – chosen for a life of family, a life of freedom, and a life of true fulfillment.
Chosen For Family
Moana kicks off by telling us about a character named Te Fiti. She’s as big as an island and she’s super powerful – but along comes a guy named Maui who steals her heart – literally – in the form of a little pounamu stone.
Te Fiti then turns into a raging lava monster as a result, and then a thousand years later, we get the scene you'll see below.
While Moana is an infant, the Ocean chooses her and gives her the lost heart of Te Fiti. It’s not really made clear why the Ocean felt Moana was the one for the job. I mean, yes, she’s super cute – and right before this clip started, she had just helped a baby turtle get into the water. So you could say that the Ocean saw Moana’s innate goodness and decided to lean into that. But you’ll notice that the Ocean makes no attempt to tell Moana what to do with the stone – not that it would matter; Moana’s in no position to understand a task of that magnitude. And that’s where the parallels to our daily walk with God get going.
We’ve all heard that “The Lord works in mysterious ways". Now, that’s not actually a verse from the Bible – it’s a phrase that comes from a three hundred year old hymn. Even so, it’s an idea that we see play out in Scripture all the time.
Think of when King David was anointed with oil years before he actually became King. It was God placing that responsibility on his shoulders and saying that this guy was gonna be the guy who got stuff done – even though David likely had no idea what was in store for him.
When God asked Abraham to leave everything he knew behind, he didn’t tell Abraham where he was going. He just said “Go – I’ll tell you about it on the way”. God grants us wisdom and understanding for sure, but He’s also been known to baffle us fairly regularly – which should make sense given that he’s God. Check out these other moments in Scripture.
We still don’t fully understand the specifics of how the God of the universe came to earth as a human. We don’t know the day that Jesus will return. And we’ll never be on God’s level of wisdom and understanding – and that’s okay. We’re not him. But that can be frustrating sometimes, right? Why doesn’t God just lay out the road map for me so I can see every step and anticipate every twist and turn?
I think part of why God doesn’t do that has to do with the reason we’ve been chosen. Firstly, I might not be able to understand the plan in the first place – Moana’s definitely in that boat here. Secondly, if He did give me a road map I could understand, I might not end up wanting to go on the journey to begin with. But more than either of those – God wants me to trust in him. And if I have the road map, I’m not trusting in him. I’m saying, “Okay, thanks. I’ll take it from here.” I’d start relying on my own strength which will definitely fail me.
We can even see something to this effect in Moana. At the start of the film, Moana’s always dreamed of getting off her island and seeing the great big world – leaving her family behind. But when she decides to disobey her father’s orders and first sail off on her own, it doesn’t go well. It’s almost as if the Ocean is deliberately holding her back. I think it’s because she was leaving for the wrong reasons. She was leaving out of selfish desire – not out of a desire to help her people. She was relying on her own strength, instead of trusting in the Ocean’s plan to give her what she really needed.
The Bible says trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight. Your path may not feel straight right now. You might feel like you’ve been on a detour for two years. But when you get where you’re headed, you’ll look back and see the reason God took you everywhere he did. God is our father – and when we trust Him, He gets us where we need to go.
Let’s head back to Moana. The Ocean has given her a task that she doesn’t fully understand – she’s going to be the one to restore the heart of Te Fiti. Te Fiti has lost her heart, remember, and Moana’s being tasked with helping Te Fiti find it again. That should feel familiar to us as followers of Christ. We believe that Jesus is the only way to true joy – both here on earth and afterwards – and there are millions upon millions of ‘lost souls’ who need to hear about God’s plan for their lives. But there’s a problem in reaching these people.
Their hearts have been lost. There are evils in the world who have taken this critical thing from them, and because of their own loss, they’re now sewing more evil and brokenness around them – which makes it kind of difficult to reach them sometimes. And before I use the word ‘them’ anymore, let me remind you that we’ve all been that person at some point. Maybe even yesterday.
As Christians, we’re a lot like Moana in the clip where the Ocean chooses her. We’ve been called to bring the good news to someone who needs it desperately. You know the parable of the lost sheep? Te Ka is the lost sheep. And the Ocean has chosen Moana to go out and get her in this scene while a beautiful song sung in another language plays. We’ll get to the song later.
But why her? Why you? We don’t even have a clue what’s going on half the time!
In the movie, the only hint we get as to why Moana was picked is in that little moment with the turtle. But I don’t think God’s picked me because of my innate goodness.
Remember, a big idea in the Bible is that we have all sinned – a lot. It’s not that I’m born sinful – strictly speaking, that’s not in the Bible – but it’s that I have knowingly and consistently chosen the wrong thing. No, the reason God has chosen you isn’t because of what you’ve done, but rather because of who you are.
You are his child. You are his creation. No matter where you go or what you do, you will never stop being his son or daughter. That’s an unchanging, unconditional, unending truth. So why were you chosen? Why is the roadmap not always visible?
Because you’re part of the family of Christ. You’re a child of the King. Moana’s name translated even means Ocean. She’s an Ocean-child, a reflection or ambassador of the one who chose her, just as we reflect the image of Christ to others. You are God’s child. God’s name is imprinted on your heart because he’s the one who made you. And we can’t be effective ambassadors unless we trust the one who sent us in the first place.
But okay, we’ve been chosen for family - because God loves us. That’s great. But why is He getting us to do this job at all? Can’t He just do it? As it turns out, that’s a question that Moana has to wrestle with too.
Chosen For Freedom
What does an all-powerful God need you for?
At this point in the film, Moana’s on her quest to return the heart of Te Fiti. She’s got Maui with her, a guy who has more or less been dragged into the adventure against his will. Now, on an average day, many of us likely don’t have our faith challenged as directly and bluntly as Moana did here. It’s such an on-the-nose question that she gets asked. But what I love about this clip is how Moana doesn’t answer Maui. She says that the Ocean chose her for a reason, but it seems that she doesn’t even know why it was her that was picked in the first place. It’s such a fair question to ask both within the context of the film and in the context of a Christian’s life. Why doesn’t God go and get the lost souls Himself? If He’s so powerful and if this is so important to Him, why not just snap His fingers and get it done?
Why would a father waste his time involving his children in something he doesn’t really need their help with?
I’m excited to pose an answer to that - but first we need to note that in the clip we just watched, Moana genuinely doesn’t have an answer to Maui’s question. And she doesn’t get one for the entire runtime of the film. To be honest, I love that, because it helps us understand what Moana’s going through. When we don’t get an answer, we’re left wondering just like Moana is. And as Christians, we never have all the answers. We believe that God is real and that He’s good and that He’ll win ultimately in the end...but we might never have the easiest time trusting Him in the storm. We might find ourselves asking the same questions Maui asked in the midst of our travels. And we might not get an answer to all of our questions in this life.
When we feel doubt about God’s purpose or presence in our lives, it can be really daunting. Because if we’re wrong – if we haven’t been chosen – then what is all of this for? I think that’s what Moana’s feeling when she says these words. She reminds me a lot of someone else in the Bible in this moment.
“Who am I,” Moses asks God in the burning bush. “That I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
This is the first of FIVE different ways Moses tries to get out of leading the Israelites in the span of ONE conversation. I’ve always found it hilarious that by the fifth one, he’s basically just begging.
“Lord, please send someone else,” Moses begs. And here we have Moana, pleading, “Choose someone else”.
But while Moses or Jonah or Balaam didn’t get out of their jobs, God does often give us what we want. Think of the rich man who wanted to follow Jesus, but chose not to after learning he’d have to give up all his possessions. Think of how Jesus let Judas betray him, or how in the parable of the Prodigal Son, the father let his son run away with his inheritance. Or even think about Adam and Eve – it’s not as though they had no choice but to follow God. God doesn’t often force us to do things His way, and in the same way, the Ocean allowed Moana to give up.
And why doesn’t God force you to do things?
Because He doesn’t need you to do them.
God is the sovereign ruler of the universe. His plan for the fate of every soul who has ever existed is beautiful, wonderful, and greater than anything we could have dreamed up on our own. And to think that we hold in our hands the power of success or failure for God’s ultimate plan is – honestly – a little bit silly. God didn’t choose you because you’re His star pupil or because you’re all He has available. It’s not as though his plan would fail if you were not involved. He chose you because you’re his child, and so that you could freely choose to be a part of His plan. Think of Jesus’ twelve disciples – he didn’t grab them by the ear and pull them along with them. He simply told them, “Follow me”.
I don’t think the Ocean needed Moana to complete this task any more than I think God needs me to be a part of his plan. But because He loves me, He wants me to be a part of it – and that’s why we’re invited. He wants you to be a part of it because He knows just how good the plan is for you. When a father asks his daughter to come grocery shopping with him, it’s probably not because he needs the extra hands. It’s because he loves the idea of bringing her along for the ride.
This isn’t to say that it’s no big deal if we don’t follow God’s plan. We’ll get to how big a deal it is soon. What I’m trying to say is that God’s gift of choice – his gift of freedom – is so valuable because it gives us the chance to have a front-row seat for God’s amazing plans.
Thankfully, Moana got back on board before the end of the film, but I think it’s so cool that she didn’t have to keep going. It highlights the importance of your own decisions in your walk with God. We’ve been chosen for the sake of family, but we’ve also been chosen for the freedom of choosing Him back.
So God has chosen you, his child, to be a part of his mission. And in his love, he’s given you the opportunity to take this mission on for yourself. So now the question is this – what are you going to do about it?
There are many times in our lives when a journey no longer seems to be worth it. The same can be true of the life of a Christian. It can be hard to stand on the word of God when others find it outrageous. It can be hard to speak truth when others don’t want to hear it. I mean, it’s hard enough sometimes just being generally nice to people these days, let alone spreading the word of God. And we see that frustration in Moana’s story, too. Before Moana and Maui meet, she’s guided by the Ocean to find him. What’s great about their meeting is that the Ocean doesn’t make it easy for Moana. She’s clearly an inexperienced seafarer, and when she asks the Ocean for help – what happens?
A storm hits.
And I just love the humanity of Moana’s reaction to that. “Um, what?! I said help me!” Man, I can relate to that. Just when I need my internet to work, it bails on me. Or just when my car needs to start the most, its battery dies. Think about Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego – three Israelite boys who were counting on God to swoop in and save them, but ended up getting thrown into a fiery furnace.
You see, Moana doesn’t yet realize that the Ocean has led her to exactly where she needs to be. She’s been shipwrecked on the very island where Maui is – and Maui’s the only one who can help her find Te Fiti.
We’ve talked earlier about how we don’t always see where God is leading us. Sometimes we just see the storm, and we can’t fathom where God could be in the midst of it. Not always, but sometimes, God is the storm. God leads us in a whole bunch of ways, and sometimes it’s not super comfortable. But He knows what He’s doing, even if we’re stomping our feet and protesting His methods. And I love that Moana had that moment to be like, “This is NOT what I had in mind!” It’s such a human moment. And it happens before she understands the significance of her circumstances. Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego were rescued from the fiery furnace, but they did get tossed in – and that was probably horrifying. While you’re facing the storm, the journey rarely feels worth it. But that’s only because you haven’t arrived yet.
The payoff for your labour is coming. The storm will not last forever – this too shall pass. And that’s awesome. But we have to admit that can still be a difficult pill to swallow. The last thing we want to hear when we’re suffering is “Wait. Be patient. Just a little longer.” Is the only reward for choosing God’s plan the pearly gates at the end of our lives? Is a life of misery what it means to be a chosen part of God’s family? Is that the fate we’re free to choose?
Chosen For Fulfillment
The coolest part of the movie is undoubtedly Moana’s confrontation with the dark version of Te Fiti. Obviously it’s cool watching Moana walk slow-motion as the water parts before her to meet a giant fire monster, but there’s more to it than that. As Moana walks, she sings these words:
First of all, wow. I don’t know about you, but that feels like something God would say to you, doesn’t it? Moana sees past the hurt and pain that Te Fiti is experiencing, and sees her true identity within.
It’s a declaration that Te Fiti is more than the sum of her pain. Te Fiti’s identity is deeper than that, and I love how Moana affirms that by saying, “You know who you are.” Our pain can make us forget who we are. We can become so hurt by the world that our pain actually replaces our identity. But who you are cannot go away. Just as the father in the story of the Prodigal Son says that his son was dead but now lives, Moana says, “You know who you are.” You’re more than the sin and hurt that covers you. And it’s in that moment that Moana restores the heart of Te Fiti, and she’s able to cast that pain aside. Wow, that’s good stuff.
But here’s where it gets even cooler. This moment is the moment that the entire film has been building up to. This is the task that the Ocean has given to Moana, years ago when she was just a child. Remember that beautiful song that was sung when Moana first received the heart? It’s back.
As Moana sings to Te Fiti, the song that she heard as an infant echoes behind her. It’s the exact same song for both scenes, but Moana is singing along this time. It’s as if this song was a song that was meant for Te Fiti the whole time, but the Ocean has chosen Moana to send that message on its behalf. Maybe the Ocean knew that Moana was the kind of person who Te Fiti would listen to. We all have people who we give permission to speak into our lives – and I think God knows and takes advantage of this. It’s as if Moana is the hands and feet of the Ocean, calling Te Fiti back to her true self.
This whole quest has been a lot of work for Moana. But maybe the reason the Ocean chose Moana was because in choosing not do this thing itself, it helped not one, not two, but three people realize who they really were. Te Fiti had her heart restored. Maui found a new purpose. And Moana saved her family and took them back to their roots of being voyagers.
This is what blows my mind. Maybe God’s given you the responsibilities that you have for your sake just as much as for the sake of the people he’s placed under your care. Maybe there’s a Te Fiti or a Maui in your life that God wants you to talk to – a song that He’s given you that they don’t know how to hear.
We said we’d be coming back to that song, remember? The song’s written in Tokelauan, a language spoken by only a few thousand people on earth. The lyrics of that song that plays in both moments of Moana’s life are this:
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. God has commanded you to be strong and courageous. And God has done this because He’s given you a task – to go into all the world and tell people about Him. And when we live a life according to his purpose, that doesn’t lead to a life of misery and despair. That’s a life of fulfillment.
Remember how Moana wanted to see the world, but the Ocean wouldn’t let her leave? It’s because if she had left with her desire as her compass, she would have been destroyed. But once Moana leaves to accomplish the task the Ocean has set before her, she actually achieves the desire of her heart – to be a voyager. And more than that – she saves her people, makes new friends, and finds a future that would not have been possible any other way.
If we are only Christians because of what’s to come after this life, we’re missing one of the greatest joys of our life here and now. God chose you because you’re part of his family. And He chose you to be free. But when we choose Him – when we follow God even in the midst of storms we don’t understand – we find ourselves living a life that is fulfilled. Following God’s path – as mysterious and frustrating as it can be – will prove itself to be worth it long before your heart stops beating.
My plans for my life are nothing compared to what God has in store for me. It’s just that living a life where we accept that we’re chosen by God can be really hard sometimes. Because it means not getting to hold the road map. It means walking into storms without knowing how we’re going to get out. But when we take hold of the plan that God has laid out for us, the reward is self-evident. It’s purpose amidst the pain. It’s power during persecution. It’s peace in the midst of pandemic. When God is the wind in your sails, the destination may not be what you expect, but it is always where you were meant to go.
You are a chosen child of the God of the universe who has the freedom to be part of the most fulfilling journey you could ever imagine. That is a privilege and an opportunity that we cannot overstate. My prayer for all of us is that we will not forget it even when the storms come. I pray that the joy of the Lord will be your strength, and that you will follow his path despite not knowing where you’re being led. We may not know where we are headed, but God knows the way. He is the way.
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