I often find bits of Christian wisdom and inspiration in some very unlikely places. Most recently, this has come from one of the most unlikely places, and one that might offend many Christians. I recently read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
*gasp*
My oldest child showed an interest in the books, and while there are many groups of Christians who are very much against them, I am not a “banning books,” type of person. Though I had never read them, I had always heard either one of two things about them:
From people who have actually read them: The books are GREAT! The battle of good vs evil is clear, yet even the good is flawed, as we see them grow throughout the stories, trying to do the right things.
From people who have never read the books or seen the movies, and only knowledge of them is that it’s about magic, written by an atheist author: The books are evil and in reading them, you will be welcoming evil sorcery into your home!
Ehhh, that last part might be a slight exaggeration for humor’s sake.
But I digress, because this is not a book review.
I decided if my children were going to read them, so was I. I was never really against them to begin with, just hadn’t really been all that interested at first. So, my oldest two children and I have completed the first book of the series, and what do you think I did?
I used it to talk to them about a relationship with Jesus. And so, I share that here, with you now, because I think it is important to spur on conversations about Christ with our children which they can understand and relate to.
**Spoiler alert, for those who are even farther behind this trend than I.**
Throughout the book, we learn of this evil doer named Voldemort, only they do not refer to him by his name, claiming that his name has power, and so they often call him, “You Know Who,” as though calling his very name, gives him life.
Harry is a young boy who was born into the life of magic, a wizard by birth, with a great destiny he knows nothing about, because when Voldemort killed his parents, he was raised by his human (muggle) aunt and uncle, who wanted nothing to do with that life. What we don’t know, however, is how did You Know Who, kill his parents, but not the defenseless baby that he was? Instead, Harry lived, and was left with a scar on his forehead.
Fast forward to the end of Harry’s first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, when he finally comes face to evil face with Voldemort, and once again, You Know Who cannot kill him. When he tries to touch him, he screams in agony, as the touch of Harry seemingly burns his hands. Realizing this, Harry touches his face to get away from him.
Upon the defeat of Voldemort, Harry asks Professor Dumbledore why he couldn’t touch him. Dumbledore tells him, “Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign…to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved is gone, will give us some protection forever.”
Their eyes lit up almost immediately, “Jesus!” They answered in unison. “Except He’s not gone,” my oldest finished. We talked about the differences and similarities a bit.”Whose name do you call on when you are scared?” I asked.
“Jesus!” they answered proudly.
I explained to them, because He loved us, we have been marked. We have been covered. We have been saved. And while evil may try to scare us or hurt us…or worse, it cannot touch us if we call upon His name.
This does not mean that bad things won’t happen. Life happens. Bad choices, horrible circumstances which we have no control over, happen all the time. But I am not talking about bad things. No, I am talking about the face of evil.
Even the demons believe that — and shudder.
~James 2:19Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him
and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”
~Mark 3:11
We have been given a power over evil, which even evil knows, yet cannot understand, and cannot defeat.
**Spoiler alert**
God wins.