Use Happenings in Your Life to Talk About Important Things

The Gospel According to Frozen

I will admit it, I have now watched Frozen seven times, and every time I have laughed and cried.  I think one of the reasons I love it so much is because the story of Anna’s love for Elsa reminds me of the story of God’s love for us.  (Be forewarned, there are some mega-spoilers ahead!)

At the beginning of Frozen, Anna and Elsa’s love for each other is very evident.  At the beginning of time, God created us to love and be loved by Him.  But Anna and Elsa’s relationship is disrupted by Elsa’s powers.  Our relationship with God is broken by sin.  We are estranged from God, we lock Him out of our lives and our hearts with our sin, just as Elsa locked Anna out of her room.

Elsa was born into her powers just as we are born into our sinful human nature.  She tried to manage her nature on her own.  She swung between the same two extremes that people do in dealing with their human nature.  She began by concealing it.  Putting on a show.  Pretending to be a “good girl.”  But she couldn’t last forever keeping it bottled up inside.  So she reverted to the other extreme and embraced her identity.  But that ended up being just as dangerous as she had feared all along. 

Neither hiding her nature nor embracing it solved the problem.  She couldn’t get rid of her powers and when she tried to use them on her own she caused destruction.  All people are born into sin.  Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  No matter how hard we try to “be good” we inevitably fall back into doing bad things, and if we choose to give into our sinful nature, we end up hurting ourselves and the people around us.  We and Elsa are both trapped by our situations without any way to save ourselves.

But what mattered in the movie was how Anna reacted to Elsa’s nature, and what matters in our lives is how God reacts to our sin.  When the truth about Elsa’s powers finally came out and she ran away, Anna went after her—even though Elsa had been rejecting Anna all her life.  Anna’s reaction was love and concern, not fear, hatred, or judgment.  Anna’s pursuit of her sister was a little crazy.  The shop owner told her, “The only one crazy enough to be out in this storm is you dear.”  God’s pursuit of us was even crazier.  Even though we reject God and separate ourselves from Him with our sin, He came after us. 

Anna’s mission to rescue her sister involved trekking up a snow-covered mountain.  God’s mission to rescue us involved leaving His throne in Heaven to become one of us.  It was prophesied in Micah 1:3 that God would “come down from His dwelling place and tread on the heights of the earth.”  This prophecy was fulfilled God entered history in the form of the man Jesus Christ.

Anna was willing to risk her life to go after Elsa, and ultimately, she chose to give up her own life to save Elsa from death.  Anna demonstrates perfect sacrificial love when she puts aside her own needs to run and take the strike that would have killed Elsa.  Even though Elsa had spent her whole life shutting Anna out, and had rejected Anna’s attempts to help her, and had even struck a blow that was causing Anna’s death, Anna loved her sister enough to put herself between her and her attacker.  She was willing to die for the very person who was killing her.

Even though we are the ones at fault in our broken relationship with God, Christ was willing to die to save us from death.  Romans 5:8 says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  God’s sacrificial love for us is truly amazing.  God gave us everything: life, happiness, love, and a relationship with Him, but we chose to reject Him and go our own way.  But God, rather than reject us as He would have been justified to do, and give us the punishment that our rebellion deserves, chose to take that punishment upon Himself.  He, the perfect and glorious one whose face we spit on in our sin, humbled Himself to die in our place for the very sin we had committed against Him. 

Elsa is amazed that Anna would sacrifice herself to save her.  She asks her, “you sacrificed yourself for me?”  Anna simply replies, “I love you.”  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” 

After Anna gave her life to save Elsa, Elsa’s whole life was redeemed.  Before Anna gave her life to save her, Elsa’s powers weighed her down and entrapped her.  She spent all her time and energy trying to conceal and control them and even then they were destructive and dangerous.  But after Anna’s sacrifice, Elsa’s powers were transformed by love.  They became something beautiful and life giving. 

Before Jesus died for our sins, our sinful human nature weighed us down.  We can try to hide it, but we can’t help but be destructive to ourselves and others.  But because of Jesus’s sacrificial death, we have the chance to have our whole nature transformed.  2 Corinthians 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away, all things are becoming new.”  We no longer have to conceal our sins, because they are now forgiven, and we no longer have to live in destructive patterns; because of Christ we can be changed into the loving creatures that God intended us to be.

Anna gave her life for Elsa, but then came back from the dead.  Jesus died for us, but three days later he rose again.  Romans 5:10 says, “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”  When Anna’s act of true love unfroze her heart, everything in Elsa’s life was transformed.  Elsa was on a path to become a villain, but because of Anna’s sacrificial death to save her, and then return from that death, Elsa’s life and powers were redeemed by love.  Because of Jesus’s sacrificial death on the cross, and then resurrection from that death, our lives can be transformed into something beautiful.  Neither Elsa nor we could save ourselves, but both Anna’s and God’s loving sacrifice make beauty from destruction.

“Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”  Is such a sad sequence especially once you know that Anna’s love all along could have saved Elsa from her prison.  Elsa kept the one person who could have helped her locked out.  Anna said “I’m right out here for you just let me in.”  In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.”  We can remain locked in the prison of our own sinful nature, or we can open the door to Jesus and let him transform our lives through the power of His love and sacrifice.

One thing that I think is really amazing is that when Frozen was originally written, Elsa was written as the villain.  But because of her relationship with Anna, the writers decided to change the end of the movie, and have Anna’s love save Elsa from spiralling into evil.  Anna’s love saved Elsa from destruction.  God’s love can save us from destruction.  Romans 10:13 says, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Do not hesitate today to call on God to change the ending of your story!

This is written by Lauren and used here by special permission.