right now i am so overwhelmed with the love of the gospel, the significance of sacrifice, and the revolution of grace. i just finished harry potter about an hour ago- for the first time- and this undoubtedly has something to do with what im thinking right now haha. harry potter was awesome. i cried. it was actually pretty life changing, so don't get me wrong, but im so glad that real salvation, real redemption, and my dear savior are so much better that harry, dumbledore, and the rest of the crew. im super analytical and could sit down right now and draw all the parallels possible between the gospel and harry potter, and i certainly think that the book echoes of love, sin, sacrifice, and redemption which all truly great stories must do, but as i read the ending of the 7th book i kept feeling like something was missing, something wasnt complete. I know what it is. Harry didnt die. I wanted him to (as much as i wanted him to live forever), knowing only a sacrifice as great as death really brings salvation. Jesus died 100% and that made all the difference. He didnt just return to normal, everyday life after the cross. Yeah, he was made alive after death and is still alive right now, but he experienced utter, complete, and total punishment. He endured it all in one deathly act of finality and wasnt allowed to pick back up his life on earth afterwards. It's the sacrifice, the cost, the burden that gets me. it is the irreversibility of his circumstance that puts fire in the belly. This type of totality and burden is different than the kind of sacrifice harry made. furthermore, despite all of his good deeds and wisdom and love for harry dumbledore ultimately was weak, messed up, and came to and end. I imagine god as a type of dumbledore who wasnt weak, or tempted, or scared, or unsure and obviously this comparison falls desperately short of the weight of his glory but in my mind that's one pretty awesome god. thats the kind of god that i cannot wait to jump into the arms of, to talk for hours to, to cry with, to laugh with, and to learn from. Lastly, there wasnt redemption from the malfoys. sure, the malfoys werent as bad a you think they are at first, and you end up sympathizing with them. but there's no real sorrow or regret from them, therefore there is not real forgiveness either, and consequently they arent really made whole or brought back in the end.
I love harry potter and it is such a refreshing and revitalizing reminder of redemption, but it doesnt hold a smoldering wick to the cross. it cant. im not sure j k rawlings wanted it to. but it is an excellent tool for stirring up the passions in peoples' hearts, prompting them to find redemption and love, and that is the real magic of harry potter.
