God at the Movies: Wreck It Ralph

Ralph is a ‘wrecker’, but he is tired of being the bad guy in his computer game. He wants to be appreciated. He wants to do something different. One of the villagers tells him, “you’re just the bad guy who wrecks the building”. Ouch, that’s gotta hurt!

So, Ralph goes on a mission to see if he can do something different. As he journeys out of his computer game, he learns a lot about himself. He meets new people. He finds someone who loves him as he is. And that love enables him to become more than just a wrecking guy.

In our Bible reading Saint Paul reflects on how hard it is to do the right thing sometimes. Listen to what he says:

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.  (Romans 7:15 NLT)

What Saint Paul is talking about is our struggle with our sinful nature. Our sinful nature makes us want to do the wrong thing. Our selfishness makes us hurt people. Our pride makes us put ourselves first and push other people aside to get what we want. And we know it’s wrong and feel bad about it, but we just keep doing the same old things.

But then Paul talks about something that can change that, something that can get us out of the dump. Something that can even change us into a new person. God’s love.

God’s love is so powerful that it can make us stronger and kinder. It helps us to do things differently. It helps us to be patient and kind and gentle. It changes what we want to do. It helps us to make better choices.

It’s kind of like God’s love resets the game because his love and forgiveness give us a new chance. He loves us even when we make mistakes. He loves us so that our mistakes go away.

I really love Wreck It Ralph because he’s such a fun character. How can you not love him? And I feel so happy that he finds a good friend. I also really love God’s patience and love because he’s there for me every time. He never gets tired of me. God’s love makes it possible for us to be a new person.

Pastor Joel Cramer