Wednesday, October 6th, 2003 - Lizzie Mcguire Movie

Awhile ago, God showed me an awesome analogy to Christianity in the Lizzie Mcguire Movie. Understanding that the reader may not have seen it before, I will briefly explain the plot of the movie, first; however, I would definitely recommend the alternative of seeing the movie if you get the chance.

Lizzie Mcguire graduates middle school and goes on a school trip to Rome during the summer before high school. This is her first time away from her family for an extended period of time (2 weeks). Her best friend Gordo and a few other common characters from the TV show accompany her on the trip.

After a heartwarming goodbye to her family, Lizzie enjoys a fun time joking around and hanging with Gordo on the plane ride when the viewer begins to see a budding intimacy developing between the main 2 characters (my way of describing Lizzie's head falling on Gordo's shoulder when they took a nap). Upon arrival in Rome, the main characters express a desire for adventure and make that their primary goal.

Lizzie meets a stunning (for lack of a better word) Italian pop star (Paolo) and is mistaken by him and many other Italians as his pop star counterpart (Isabella) in the famous singing duo, since Lizzie looks exactly like her (and actually plays her in the movie, too, despite her attempt at an Italian accent). After talking for a little bit, Paolo realizes that she is just a look alike, but later goes on to charm her into spending many adventures with him around Rome; Lizzie pretends to be sick and then sneaks out of her hotel repeatedly to pursue these endeavors.

To make a long story short, Lizzie finds in the end that Paolo was using her all along to get her to ruin Isabella's career, so that Paolo would emerge a solo artist. Gordo, all along, kept sacrificing his own trip and vacation to keep covering for Lizzie while she was sneaking out, and he eventually got himself kicked off the trip and sent back home just so that Lizzie wouldn't get in trouble.

Everyone's secrets are revealed in the end - Paolo is humiliated and falls apart. Lizzie is saddened and then amazed at what Gordo did for her all along, and she shows her gratitude and affection at his sincerity and character in the movie-ending, somewhat-awkward kiss between her and Gordo.

I left out some things, but I think that should be enough background to understand the analogy that God showed me. Lizzie represents us (humans), Gordo represents Jesus, and Paolo represents, collectively, everything around us that we sometimes choose to pursue instead of God (idols, in Biblical wording). Let me elaborate...

Keep in mind that this is not all people, but I know that I have done it in the past. We start out having a connection with God; we may consider Him our best friend and enjoy times with Him both fun and also intimate (plane ride, anyone?). We also have this desire for adventure, a desire for an exciting, fulfilling life. This is found in a life led by God, but sometimes we look in other places for excitement and adventure (I'm not sure why, but we do).

We may enjoy our time seeking whatever it is that we grab onto; we may feel attraction, warmth, happiness, comfort - all good things, don't get me wrong. But these feelings last only for a time, because they are just that: feelings. Our emotions are so wavering based on our mindset and our current situation. The instant we realize that what we were pursuing is not all that it was cracked up to be, when we see that object of pursuit as it really is, our emotions often come crashing down and all those positive feelings become negative.

Lizzie sought Paolo because he was charming and attractive; she probably thought that he could bring her that warmth, happiness, and maybe even that excitement-filled life that she had been looking for. And she found it; but once she realized his true colors, she was devestated. It hurt her even more that her best friend had sacrificed all that he had, his entire trip, just so that she could experience the things that she did. She realized that she had used Gordo for her own intentions and completely denied him any of her time and affection in the process.

Relationships are a big area where we, as people, look to fill holes in our hearts and because of that, we become fragile to getting our hearts broken, should that relationship end or be found to be untrue. Money is another example of something that people pursue for satisfaction; only when people accumulate big amounts of wealth do they realize how empty it is of that excitement-filled life that we are seeking. In my life, I can see times where I sought acceptance, where I simply ceased to have an opinion and just agreed with everyone - sure, I was accepted, but it didn't mean anything. Other times, I sought productivity, where I worked just an insane amount of hours (30+ hrs/week while still in high school) to feel as if I had accomplished something - this was coupled with temporary pride, but did not last long at all. I think you get my point here... the list could go on and on with things that we seek happiness in.

For Lizzie it was Paolo; even though Gordo was right there the whole time, sacrificing his every thing just so that she could be happy and live the way she wanted. She had to be broken of her emotional pursuit before she realized that what she really wanted had been there the whole time. She then realized that time with her best friend was the greatest and most exciting thing that was available to her. All she had to do was accept his desire to be with her.

In the same way, we are eventually broken of our unfulfilling pursuits, so that we look to God and realize that the exciting, complete life that we seek is found only in Him. He gave up everything for us - dying on a cross for our sins to be washed away and for us to have the option of a relationship with Him. But just like Lizzie, we are given a choice. And just like Lizzie, we so often look in so many places other than in God.

The good news is that God does not change; He stands there waiting for us no matter how long we take to realize that we need Him and all these other things that we pursue aren't quite what everyone says they are. This is one reason why I praise Him with all that I am! He waited for me while I sought the wrong things; He waited for me while I didn't completely understand Him (and I still don't); He waited for me while I learned more about Him, and He waited for me while I learned that nothing else even comes close to sharing a loving relationship with Him.

Just like Lizzie, I found myself even more attached to my Best Friend after realizing how much better He is compared to anything else out there that I have sought and found to be empty. My intimacy with Him grows stronger the more of these trials I experience, and that is the very reason I am persevering such trials (as everyone is). We all have the choice to seek Paolo or to seek Gordo - I pray that we all seek Gordo (the sooner the better) so that we may begin or continue to live that exciting, abundant life right now. It's kind of like Snickers - "Hungry? Why Wait?"

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