In 1977, the movie Star Wars captivated me so deeply that I went back to the theater SEVEN times.(Clearly, this was before DVDs and streaming video!) As I watched the second movie, The Empire Strikes Back, I began to understand why it intrigued me so greatly.
Luke Skywalker, seeking the Jedi Master to train to become a Jedi himself, confronts his own dark side in the form of Darth Vader.
After thinking he killed his mortal enemy, he removes the mask and discovers that the enemy he had defeated was himself. With this newfound awareness of his own dark side, Luke can now go deeper to connect to his true power, perhaps to become a Jedi Master himself.
Similarly, we can only find freedom from our inner wounds and destructive behaviors by acknowledging and facing our shadow selves.
The Apostle Paul prayed that God would grant his converts “power through His Spirit in your inner being.” Maybe, this journey into our secret inner lives is the journey we’re designed for all along.
I can’t help thinking that Paul is imagining an interior universe as vast and varied as George Lucas’ galaxy — and God is everywhere in it.
If so, then our shadow is not an ugly, scary place where God’s Spirit would never go. On the contrary, we can expect to find that God’s Spirit is already there, understanding our wounds, our shame, our fears, and waiting for us and loving us more than we can imagine.
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Pause and reflect
- One promise of sobriety, according to the Big Book of AA, is that “we will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do ourselves.” How might that be happening to you?
If you haven’t had a chance to read ALL IN, I hope you will discover that it’s an enlightening and healing journey. I’d love to hear your impressions.