“Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ “
Luke 17:7-10
I have had some recent discussions about finding my identity in Christ. It is easy to find my identity in other things. For instance, I could find my identity in my job, but what happens if I lose it? Who am I then? As I recently heard, “If I am what I do and I don’t, then I’m not.” Think that one over for a moment!
That is all fine and dandy. I have a sense of what I’m not supposed to do, but that still leaves me asking what I am supposed to do. How do I know I’m on the right path? As I pondered and prayed, an image came to mind as I recalled the movie Toy Story. If you have not seen it, I very highly recommend it. Spoilers will commence below.
Toy Story is about a group of toys owned by a kid named Andy (who are alive, unbeknownst to all people). Woody is Andy’s favorite. Then one day a new toy comes: Buzz Lightyear, who competes for Andy’s attention, making Woody jealous. However, Buzz has his own problem: he doesn’t realize he’s a toy. When Buzz finally realizes he isn’t a Space Ranger, he loses all reason to live. They accidentally end up at the house next door in the clutches of a boy named Sid who tortures his toys. As Woody tries to escape, he asks for Buzz’s help, but Buzz is too depressed to care:
Woody: Oh, Buzz, you’ve had a big fall. You must not be thinking clearly.
Buzz: No, Woody, for the first time I am thinking clearly. You were right all along. I’m not a Space Ranger. I’m just a toy. A stupid little insignificant toy.
Woody: Whoa. Hey. Wait a minute. Being a toy is a lot better than being a Space Ranger.
Buzz: Yeah, right.
Woody: No, it is. Look, over in that house is a kid who thinks you are the greatest, and it’s not because you’re a Space Ranger, pal. It’s because you’re a toy. You are his toy.
Their whole purpose in life was to be Andy’s toys. Their identity was found in Andy. Andy loved them for who they were created to be, not who they wished they could be. Andy loved Buzz because he was his toy, not because he was a Space Ranger. Woody didn’t need to be Andy’s favorite; he simply needed to be there for Andy when he was wanted, however frequent that was. When they are doing what they were created to be, that’s when they would live their lives to the fullest.
While they are lost, Andy is worried. When a moving van comes to their house and all his room is packed up without him finding Buzz or Woody, he is standing in the empty room with his cowboy hat in one hand and Buzz’s spaceship in the other with a sad look on his face.
I think it’s the same with us and God. He loves us for who he created us to be, not what we think we should do. When we sin and run away, he calls us back to repentance. He’s like Andy, trying to find us. “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:8) We were created to love and serve him. When we lose our focus on him and go our own ways, we will never find the greatest fulfillment we can. We will always come up short.
Finally, we need to remember that Andy’s toys were all different. Just as Woody and Buzz were not the same, God has created each of us to be unique. Just because God calls me to one thing, doesn’t mean he won’t call you to something completely different. By submitting ourselves to his will, we will find fulfillment. So much of our lives are transitory, but our God is the unchanging Rock who we can put our hope in.