Bambi is dead

The fire raged all around him. Every avenue of escape was met with falling trees and bursts of flame. Bambi wanted to escape. Desired to make it out alive. Then rang out the shot. He felt it as it pierced his side. Within that moment a choice appeared. Perish or survive? Then a thought occurred to Bambi. Why did mom and dad put me in this position in the first place. Why did society make a forest that burns? I am afraid. I need help. I can’t do this because they have stacked all the cards against me.

Bambi staggered in the weight of the fires heat. The bullet had weakened him. All his insecurities races to the front of his head pulling him down. The bullet was a misfortune. A random act of providence. It’s his fate. Weeks later the fire crews found the charred remains of a once beautiful fawn. Etched into the ground in Bambi’s final breath were the scrawled words you did this to me, I had no choice but to die.

Wait a minute! Where are the words by dad telling Bambi to get up? Where is the struggle to his feet? The race against the fire? Didn’t Bambi win? We have lost the Bambi we needed in this brave new world. First of all, Dad is not needed in this story. The school, politicians, and news media will help. Yet, unfortunately only in theory. The way out of the forest was under review. It had not been finalized, debated, and revised.

There was no choice. Bambi was depressed from years of neglect of a working mother of a big company. He was a victim just as every other animal of the forest was. Getting up running, trying, and winning were inconceivable to him. Participation is all that matters. It’s survival of the fittest. In his depressed state he realized that marijuana would have helped. A red bull would be nice. Then maybe with the help of a support group Bambi might have got up.

What does God have to say. God is totally mean. Totally uncaring and frivolous to our little hearts. Luke 9:62 “Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." What kind of help is that? A caring God, ya right. It’s horrible that God wants Bambi to get up. How dare him request that hurt feelings and insecurities are not considered good excuses. Yet, God will ask again for Bambi to get up.

How do you sell that type of message to this brave new world? You can do it. You must believe. No help is really required. You were made for this. You don’t need a group, red bull, drugs, or a gang to save you. It’s all inside. God made you that way. Oh, but the Church said Jesus saves. A Christian group saves. The church saves. They forgot that God built us. God asks us to get up and fight for life. Fight the fire. And run to win. Those are foreign words in this brave new world.

For thousands of years Bambi’s grew up and took the fight to the fire. We just knew that Bambi would save the day. You get pushed down and you stand back up. We talk and reason. If that does not work when a push becomes a shove, we fight back. We run and win. A personal relationship with God is full of private trials and disappointments. Yet, in the end, we win. Inner strength is built in knowing someone will always tell you to get up.

We live in a world today that\ helps us up far too much. So much so, that they have invented ways to make little helpers. Help yourself to drugs. Help yourself to groups. Help is on the way with money. None of it is earned. It is all given. That quote by Jesus is interesting. Always look forward to wining. Work hard and own your plow. You’re an individual, but we belong to the kingdom of people.

Bambi is dead. The forest will burn. In the charred remains we will be met by an advisor telling us that it was Bambi’s fault because he was not wearing a helmet, sunscreen, and a safety vest.

faithcomesalive.com