Advent 2019 – Day 4

“A Light Bulb Moment”

Isaiah 9:6 – “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

In the movie Toy Story 4, viewers are introduced to a new toy. Forky. Forky is made on the first day of kindergarten by Bonnie, the young girl who owns all the other toys we have come to love. Forky is made of a plastic spork, clay, popsicle sticks, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners. For a good portion of the movie, Forky can’t believe he is a real toy and always makes a run toward the trash can. Forky can’t get over the fact that he’s not trash. Woody (Tom Hanks) spends most of his time chasing after Forky, keeping him from throwing himself away, because he is so beloved by Bonnie. At a critical moment in the movie, Woody has a “light bulb moment” with Forky. To try to convince Forky that he doesn’t belong in the trash he says, “You know how safe you feel in the trash can? That’s how Bonnie feels when she has you.” That reality for Forky seemed to change everything. Forky considered himself helpless trash until he realized he was really loved.

When Isaiah wrote his prophecy, God’s people thought they were doomed. They had sinned against God and wondered if there was any hope. In their hearts, they assumed they were “trash.” In the middle of a very difficult time, God told Isaiah to give them a “light bulb message.” They were loved. They were wanted. A rescue was coming. A child would be born in the future. God’s Son would come. He would be Wonderful, Mighty, Eternal, and a Prince. He would be God Himself, a Counselor, a Father, and Peace. God’s people would no longer have to wonder if they were doomed to being “trash.” Through Isaiah’s words, the promise of what was to come, they knew they were loved and secured by God and His good plan.

Our relationship with God is not based on our past or our feelings about ourselves. It is based on His promised and fulfilled love for us in the baby boy who came, Jesus Christ.