Mr. Incredible...not Mr. Perfect...

   I think we've all seen "The Incredibles". It's fun, it's funny, and it's not only for kids. I've seen it many times, but this time some things really stood out to me. I don't normally find deep meanings or life examples in movies. But this time, I think I did. So bear with me if it comes out a little corny!:)

  Superheroes are special. They have a power that no one else does, that no ordinary human could possibly have. It's a gift. Others can try to have this gift, or at least pretend to have it through tricks and creativity. This is what Syndrome tried to do, isn't it? But it was all a farse. His mask was fake and useless because it hid nothing of the real him...isn't that why superheroes wear masks? As a disguise? All of Syndrome's powers were self-made, defeatable, unnatural, and for purely selfish reasons. The only gift he had was great intelligence, and this he used for his own gain instead of as a means of helping others. The Incredibles and other "supers" however, did not work for merely their own gain. They worked towards protecting others and bringing hope and peace to the world. They had real and natural gifts, something truly special. Supers are not perfect however. They are merely super.

Bob has incredible strength and used it for good, but when hard times came a lot of what he did had to do with his ego and feeling good about himself.


Helen could stretch all over the place and punch anyone out, but she loved to criticize, argue over unimportant things, and pretend that super power was nothing.

Violet could disappear and create forcefields, but she was insecure and didn't quite know who she was.

Dash could run forever, even on water, but he was over curious and very disobedient.


And Jack-Jack? Well, he was a baby!:P



  I don't know if in all this writing you understand what I'm trying to get at. We, as Christians, are the supers. We are special and different from normal people in that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us. He is our power, our super power who enables us to do great things. And He gives us a gift, or several gifts (like Violet and Jack-Jack). Gifts for us to use. Gifts that no one else can have. They can copy and play at having them for a while (like Syndrome), but their plan and game eventually fall through. They lose. They lose everything they had gained for themselves. They even lose their life.
  And every super is different. No two are alike. Why? Because that's how God made us. He built us for community. He built us to compliment each other, to depend on each other, and to help each other. He didn't build us to work alone, because when you work alone you end up like Syndrome. When you work alone or try to, you end up like Bob: frustrated and scared of losing his family. But there's no fear in real love. Real love fights on, and real love fights alongside those around it. Why? Because together we're stronger. Alone Bob couldn't defeat the robot. Together they killed it.

  How many times though do we fall into doing things, and into using our gifts to make us feel good like Bob? How many times do we down-talk the power living within us and "poo-poo" (if you'll pardon the expression) the gifts we've been given like Helen? How often do we lose our identity and not communicate like Violet? How much curiosity do we allow to overcome us and so we disobey like Dash? I plead guilty, do you?
  We aren't perfect, but we are supers. We need the men to step up, lead, and "intervene" just like Helen asked Bob to! We need the women to stand beside the men and encourage the men like Helen does in the end, not be argumentative like Luscious' wife! And we need to all keep our focus on God, on Jesus and what He's done for us. Because without Him, we're nothing...even together. And through all the trials, even if we're scared or need stitches, we'll come out stronger from them in the end. Just like the Incredibles.
  So what are you waiting for? You've been given a wonderful gift, maybe more than one. Are you using it?