entangled No More
I watched one of my favorite Disney movies the other day. Tangled! That lantern scene on the water gets me every, single time, y’all. As the credits rolled, I sat there replaying the movie in my head. Rapunzel was set free. She finally got her life back after years of being stuck in that tower, and per usual, a happy ending proceeded.
Then, it dawned on me how there’s a freedom story interwoven that’s deeper than just Rapunzel’s physical freedom from the tower she’d been trapped in. There’s more to this story than meets the eye, and it relates interestingly to the Gospel.
In the movie, Mother Gothel captures Rapunzel and raises her to believe that the outside world is a terrifying and harmful place. As a result, Rapunzel must never leave the tower because it is the only safe place for her. But, we all know that those are lies, and Rapunzel is actually trapped, unable to experience the fullness of life.
Once the opportunity presents itself to explore the outside world with Flynn, she realizes how beautiful and amazing it is. Her eyes are opened, she sees the light, and is filled with wonder and awe.
This idea plays out similarly in Christianity.
Satan does everything in his power to trap us and hold us back from experiencing life by making us think we’re in the safest place. Unbeknownst to us, we believe these lies and are unaware of the chains keeping us in bondage. Our eyes have not been opened, and we don’t know any other life.
The world shows us a lot that seems good. Getting those grades, graduating with a prestigious degree, having a six-figure salary, being in a relationship, being popular, and getting likes on social media. Yet, there always come a point when boredom appears, along with the sense that there should be more to life.
The same happened for Rapunzel, who painted, knit, cooked, read, and did chores. Eventually, she got bored with the activities and tasks in the tower. She wanted to know that there was more to life. After all, the song while she’s doing all this is called When Will My Life Begin?.
The joyous news is that there is more. Life can begin.
Galatians 5:13a tells us that “you, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.”
We have been created to be free! It’s in our nature. There is a desire to experience freedom because there is a call for us to be free.
And to call us into freedom, Jesus broke through the dark and now beckons us to see the light. To taste and see goodness and walk away from the lies of staying in the tower because it appears safest.
The tower of sin prevents the experience of true freedom and leaves a desire for wanting something more.
But Jesus, in His grace and love, shows us the measures He went to so that we could discover life outside the tower of sin. Through his death, our sin was placed on him and his resurrection secured the opportunity to come to Him and experience goodness and be amazed at the wonderful life that awaits us if we choose it.
When our eyes are opened, we stand amazed at the life we can experience with freedom, joy, peace, and purpose.
Life on the other side is oh so sweet.
Once we realize how much sweeter it is on the other side, we fight back when the tower tries to pull us in again. Just like Rapunzel refused to go back with Mother Gothel.
We have that same power because “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1
There is another call to resist slavery again, to resist that tower.
A desire to stay in the tower is no longer there because there has been a glimpse and a taste of the goodness of God (Psalm 34:8).
Walking in the freedom of Jesus brings hope and life because sin and misconceived ideas of goodness are no longer the best thing to experience in life.
Discovering this freedom brings life to the fullest and the benefits reaped are holiness and eternal life (Romans 6:22). How awesome is that!
This discovery calls for never-ending joy and continual celebration!
~Laura