Well, I may be mocked for this one, but yes, I enjoyed the Disney movie Tangled.
Ok, so when I was a kid, the movies I could watch were restricted to mostly Disney cartoon musicals.
I still love Aladdin, The Lion King, and, dare I say, Beauty and the Beast to this day.
So, Tangled worked for me.
Anyway, while watching the end of the movie for the third time, when the evil step-mom who'd stolen Rapunzel had successfully gotten the girl locked back into the tower, convincing her that all was bad outside of the tower so that she'd never want to leave, I noticed a theme that can apply to us as followers of Christ.
So, to continue the story in Tangled, Rapunzel, while thinking back on the world she'd glimpsed while temporarily escaping the tower early in the movie, a world much larger and grand than she'd ever imagined could exist, she suddenly realized, through a series of clever Disney flashbacks, that she was the princess of the kingdom outside the tower.
Immediately, her identity changed from that of a poor helpless slave to her wicked stepmother, to princess of a king and queen who desired to have her back in their lives.
They loved her, and wanted her to rule the kingdom with them.
I think we as Christians can feel the same way as Rapunzel sometimes.
Except, our wicked stepmother is condemnation.
Yes, we mess up, but is that the identity we're supposed to live in while walking with Christ.
I don't think so.
"For there is no condemnation for those of us in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:1, NASB) So let's get our identity straight.
Yes, we will feel conviction when we do something contrary to our new nature in Christ.
But let's not let that make us forget, no matter how badly the wicked stepmother of condemnation shouts at us to stay in our little tower of guilt and self-loathing, that we are heirs of the kingdom of heaven, and God wants us to get out of that tower and live for him.
By the way, at the end of the movie, (spoiler alert), the wicked stepmother dies, and Rapunzel is free of her lies.
So if condemnation is keeping you locked up in a tower of misery and fear, don't forget, it's a lier.
Christ killed it, so let it die.
The truth: you're an heir of an eternal kingdom in Christ.
Now, go find a niece, or nephew, little sister, or some kid that you can watch that movie with so you don't need to feel embarrassed, and get some of that old school Disney nostalgia back in your life! It's been awhile since they've produced a good-old cartoon musical.