If we keep our eyes open to common grace, it’s amazing how God gives glimpses of His truth throughout this world that corroborate the testimony of His word. 1 Corinthians 12-14 has much to say about the church as “one body with many members” where “if one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” But what happens if those members feel pressure to perform, or to compete for status with one another? Without love, any giftedness amounts to nothing.
Whether intentional or not, the new Disney movie Encanto seems to pick up on this narrative. Its story follows a Colombian family that experiences a defining miracle when its head sacrifices his life. Not only does this miracle result in his bride and children being saved from danger and established in a home, but it also results in each family member, at their coming of age, being given a miraculous gift. The Family Madrigal quickly becomes famous throughout the community for their gifts, and even amongst themselves they are increasingly celebrated for their miraculous abilities – that’s what seems to form the main piece of each of their identities. Everything seems perfect until one year the granddaughter Mirabel doesn’t appear to receive a gift. Is there something wrong with the magic, or just with her? Soon cracks begin appearing in the family house, which clearly reflect the cracks already existing in some of the family relationships. I don’t want to spoil the movie, but basically it reflects 1 Corinthians 12:22: “The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indespensable.” Mirabel sets out on a journey to discover her true identity and really the fundamental but lost identity of the whole family. At the the end, the grandmother summarizes by telling her kids, “The miracle isn’t your gift…just you.”
The miracle of our salvation in Jesus Christ changes everything forever. We’ve been brought home, and made a family like no other. But the more we seek to distinguish ourselves and define each other purely on terms of what we have to offer, the more we lose sight of how and why we’ve been made a family. The miracle isn’t the gifts we’ve been given. Those can come and go, or even be used unhelpfully. The true miracle is redemption – what our Head has already accomplished – and the love with which we’re being knit together for a thrilling eternity together. When we rediscover that, the watching world really takes note. Like Mirabel and the Family Madrigal, may you rejoice in the family of faith you’ve been given, and see your place in it apart from anything you contribute or seek to prove by your gifts.