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So recently I walked into a movie theater for a night out with some friends and I left having encountered God.

I saw The Greatest Showman (which you NEED to go see if you haven’t!).  The film is a musical about the birth of show business inspired by the life of P.T. Barnum, an American showman and founder of Barnum & Bailey’s Circus.

There are so many themes in this movie that could serve as illustrations for biblical truths, but I sensed God speaking to me through two in particular that are vital lessons for us in this life of following Jesus, and I want to share them with you.

*There are some plot points discussed in this post, but no major spoilers. 😉

1. Love without boundaries.

After a rocky first attempt at drawing crowds to his museum of oddities (think Ripley’s Believe or Not) and a little inspiration from his daughters, P.T. Barnum starts posting ads calling for “unique persons” who would audition to become a part of what was beginning its transition from museum to a live variety show.

Among the unique persons to join Barnum’s team of performers: a bearded lady, an abnormally tall man, an African-American brother and sister team who were trapeze artists, and many others.  What they all had in common: these were people who were not accepted or valued by the society they were in.  They were considered freaks, people who should be hidden, people not to be associated with or loved because of their unusual physical features, unusual talents, or race.  They were people the culture said you should divide yourself from instead of reaching out to because they’re not like you.

Barnum valued the people on the fringes of society and brought them into a family.  He saw the gifts in them overlooked by others.  He gave them a platform for purposeful service that brought meaning not just to their own lives but to the lives of others as well.  He challenged the norm that said you can’t value or have meaningful relationship with people who are different from you.

Isn’t that just like what Jesus does?  Isn’t that what He calls each of us as His sons and daughters to do for our neighbors?

Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.  For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. (Romans 13:8-10)

When society shunned and shamed the lepers, Jesus touched them, healed them and restored them to community. (Matthew 8:1-4)

When society treated women as inferior and as property, Jesus fought for them and included them.  He welcomed them into His community of disciples and made them participants in the work of His Kingdom. (Luke 8:1-3; John 8:1-11)

When society built barriers of relational conflict between ethnic groups, genders, political groups and socio-economic classes, Jesus broke down those barriers and made them one family through faith in Him.  (Colossians 3:11; Galatians 3:28; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

When society saw children as a distraction, Jesus brought them near and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)

When prideful religious elites distanced themselves in disgust from those who were not in relationship with God, Jesus spoke and lived with compassion toward the ones still far from Him, trapped in the grip of their sin.  He loved them.  He built relationship with them. He invited them into freedom from sin and relationship with God with gentleness and humility. (Mark 2:13-17)

When you and I were far away from God because of our sin against Him, He reached out and brought us near. He made a way for us to be forgiven and to know Him because of the sacrifice of Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1-13)

Jesus loves without boundaries and so should we.  Jesus takes the “you’re not like me, therefore we have to be divided” mentality of our flawed human nature and shows us a better way to live and love.  Even amidst diversity and disagreement, we can still love well, form genuine friendships, and treat every person with dignity and respect as our neighbors created in the image of God and dearly loved by Him.

It’s as if the example of Barnum portrayed in the film serves as a prophetic statement to our generation.  Both the Church and society in general are struggling with this “love without boundaries” concept right now.  Whenever there are differences between people, it’s easier to build walls than to go against the grain of the culture and tear those walls down.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are called to a higher standard of conduct than to participate in the divisive, wall-building tendencies of the culture.  You are called and empowered by Him to genuinely love, value, and befriend people who are different from you.  And in doing so you become a tangible expression of the love of Jesus to people.

Christ-like love doesn’t require people to have figured out what they believe about Jesus and to be living a spiritually mature life before they are deserving of love, friendship and respect.  It doesn’t require people to be exactly the same as you, or to adjust their opinions and experiences to match your own before they can earn the right to be loved and served well as fellow human beings created in the image of God.  It doesn’t require people to be Christians before their talents and contributions for good in the world can be acknowledged and appreciated.

Christ-like love leads with love, friendship and respect.  Christ-like love brings people together and welcomes people in, even if they’re different. And the ones society says should be rejected?  Not an excuse for Christ-like love.  Christ-like love loves across barriers, not within them. Christ-like love loves people into the fullness of life that God has for them.

Sometimes that looks like reaching out across the political or theological aisle.  Sometimes it looks like making a friend of a different race or cultural background than you.  Sometimes it looks like hearing someone out whose life experience is different from your own and seeking to understand. (James 1:19)

Sometimes it looks like setting a standard of honor toward those society often has a hard time valuing-maybe someone younger or older than you, someone with health challenges, someone of a different socio-economic status than you, someone originally from another nation.

There will be times when loving people like Jesus also includes challenging our brothers and sisters in Christ to mature wholehearted obedience to Him, as well as graciously calling people to faith in Jesus.  Loving people like Jesus should never compromise the truth of His Word in any way, but according to Scripture, loving people well and clinging to God’s truth are not mutually exclusive concepts. (Ephesians 4:15)

How do you view people in your heart?  How are you treating people? Especially the societal “outcasts” and the people who are different from you? Are you following the example of the culture or the example of Jesus?  Are you setting an example for the culture or letting culture set an example for you?

Note: One of my favorite authors, Scott Sauls, has written two powerful books expounding on this subject, Jesus Outside The Lines and Befriend, and I can’t recommend them to you highly enough.

2. Don’t let resistance win.

Barnum experienced so much criticism and so many obstacles as he continued to fight for his dream to develop.  One journalist in particular just could not be won over by Barnum’s show and had no problem making his views known directly to Barnum and in the papers.  Barnum and his performers were cruelly mocked by many people of the city.  Their art was embraced by many, yet still misunderstood by others. (And all the creative people said, “amen!”) He faced practical and financial challenges again and again.

And he did not give up.

He had a dream in his heart and pursued it even when life did its best to get him to quit.

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of His call. May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.  Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with Him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

(2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)

It reminds me of the story of Nehemiah in the Old Testament, and how God puts dreams in our hearts and prompts us to do things as well.  God put a dream in Nehemiah’s heart to go back to his homeland of Jerusalem and lead an effort to rebuild the ruined walls of the city.  It was a task that would restore a sense of protection and spiritual vitality to a physically and spiritually broken people returning from exile in a foreign land.

He was constantly met with criticism and mocking from enemies of God’s people who didn’t want the wall rebuilt and God’s people restored. He was threatened with physical attacks. He faced discouragement and weariness in the people helping to rebuild the walls, not to mention the sheer size of the task in front of him was daunting.

Every time criticism and obstacles came at him, Nehemiah encouraged himself in what God had called him to do, he prayed to God for help and he kept after building the wall. He didn’t let a few critics and some challenges stop him from what God had put in His heart to do.

As you pursue the things God puts in your heart, big or small, you will face resistance.

There’s the element that life is just hard because the world we live in is broken. But there’s also the spiritual reality that the Enemy doesn’t want us doing things that God calls us to because when we pursue them they bring glory to God and He uses them to impact people’s lives for good and for His purposes.

There will always be critics. There will always be those who don’t understand what God has called you to do. There will always be obstacles.  Don’t let those things snuff out what God has put in your heart to do.

If God speaks to you and asks you to shift gears or make adjustments, by all means cooperate with God’s leadership in your life, but don’t adjust what God has called you to do because of the voice of critics. If God is legitimately closing a door and redirecting you, by all means follow Him and trust Him, but don’t give up because of a little resistance on the journey.

So what is it for you?

Maybe you feel God calling you to pursue Him more wholeheartedly and your friends don’t understand.  Maybe you know God is inviting you to develop a consistent practice of prayer and reading the Word, or to serve at your church and you feel like you can’t do it.  Maybe there’s someone in your life God is drawing you to serve in some way or to share Jesus with.  Maybe there’s some area of need or struggle in your life you are believing for God to work out for you. Maybe you feel called to some field of study or work or ministry service in life.  Maybe you have a gift, passion or idea God’s given you.

Whatever it is, keep conversation with God about that thing open, follow His leadership, and don’t let resistance win.

I believe what God has placed in you matters. I believe the things He calls you to do matter. I believe He will use them to bring joy to your heart, to make His name known, and to help others however that looks in the different seasons of your life, so don’t give up.

***

Just for fun: This is a must-see clip of the cast performing the song “From Now On” from the musical before it was even green-lit for production, and it is powerful! Who says you can’t take a song from a musical to church a little bit, right? 🙂

Let’s Talk:  Which of these lessons most resonated with you and why?  If you’ve seen The Greatest Showman, what was your favorite part of the movie?!  Discuss this post in the comments below.

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