At the beginning of Thor, we see the son of a king content to live a life FOR his father. He wants to please and earn his affection through winning battles for the kingdom. He seems to earn it and is about to crown king when his father’s enemies, enter the palace in violation of a treaty.
Thor, on the advice of his brother Loki, decides to invade the king’s enemies. He is banished to earth by his father, and his magical hammer, Mjonir, is also taken from his possession. The very embodiment of life lived for his king and the kingdom. Life now seems to have no purpose, no value as the structure of his life has been stripped away. He doesn’t know that there is beauty in living life WITH his father and his authority.
You and me, like Thor, have baggage from living FOR a king. The church has often put the mission of God over the pursuit of God. It is not that the mission of God isn’t important, but when it is placed over a relationship with him, we live life away from the perfect communion he desires with us.
For too long I have been content in living life FOR God. I have found my worth in using my gifts and abilities for God, without having a relationship with the “giver of all good gifts (James 1). I thought that using my gifts and abilities gave life significance and value, without seeing that God just wanted a relationship with me. Out of my relationship with Him, I can use my gifts and abilities to bring people closer to a deeper relationship with Him.
The apostle Paul understood that living life WITH God is where our hearts find their purpose and their true worth. He was a man on a mission for spreading the gospel, but the true goal of his life was pursuing God Himself. In Phillipians 3:8-9, Paul says that he counted everything as loss comparing to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus. Skye Jethani says in this book “With” that, “This knowledge does not mean an intellectual knowledge, but means a intimate and experimental knowledge” His true purpose was found pursuing the beautiful mystery of God, and finding his true worth in being His child.
Thor finds his purpose in living life not for his father and his own selfish ambitions. Thor is willing to give of his life to protect Earth when Loki sends the Destroyer to kill Thor. It is in this selflessness, he is worthy of possessing Mjonjr once again. He easily defeats the Destroyer with the authority given to him by his Father.
When Thor returns to Asgard (his home), we find Thor back in communion with His father. Here is the exchange between them:
“You’ll be a wise king”
“There will never a wiser king than you, Or a better father. I have much to learn. I know that now. But some days, perhaps I will make you proud.”
“You’ve already made me proud”.
Thor is still caught up in living life FOR His father in this exchange. However, his father wants him to know that he is proud of him, for standing up and protecting others, out of the authority given to him through Mjonir. The authority given to him shows the work that is being done in his heart, a move from self-centeredness to selflessness.
In embracing the beauty of a relationship WITH God, we find a authority greater than any of the things of this earth. Paul says in Ephesians 1:19, that there is incomparably great power for us who believe and that this power is the same power God showed when he raised Christ from the dead. Once we claim this authority and live in community with the Father, we discover our heart’s true belonging.
We were made by Him and to live in his love for us. This is where we belong.
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