Marvel comics is currently running a crossover called "Secret Invasion." The idea is to tie together all of the superheroes in the Marvel Universe with a common plot. They do this at least every couple of years with a small 3-4 month crossover, but this time I think the idea is to carry it through a full year. It's a great idea and makes for great writing.
Secret Invasion takes place on the premise that many years ago, a group of alien shape-shifters called "Skrulls" decided to replace certain and specific superheroes across the globe in a strategic effort to one day take over the earth. In recent months, the good guys have discovered this plot and are working to stop it. Each week, new heroes are revealed to be be Skrulls and the headline, "Who do you trust?" runs across at least 3 different titles. Each week, more and more of the characters you have come to love and believe in are revealed as aliens... and readers across the globe are shocked and amazed.
The thing I find interesting about this is the way the writers decided to make the infiltration happen. They created characters who are so dedicated to their race and the conquest of Earth, that many of the Skrull replacement heroes don't even realize that they are Skrulls until it's too late. The transformation of their physical and mental forms into that of the person they are replacing is so deep and so complete, that they themselves do not remember their former lives until they are awakened by the phrase, "He loves me." When it is spoken to a sleeper agent, he or she remembers everything and goes forward to do their part for the invasion. At this point in the story, the phrase is suggested to refer to the "first one" who is the foundation of the Skrull race, its religions, and its beliefs.
As Christians, I wonder how much like that we are at times...so deeply rooted in the traditions and beliefs that we have been exposed to since childhood that we have long forgotten those things which made us unique and different to begin with. How much of ourselves have we forgotten simply because we have been told by the church to act and to choose in a certain way.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that Christianity is a bad thing akin to a cult...
I'm not suggesting that listening to the suggestions of our pastors will brainwash us into blindly
making decisions which will demand for us to give up our free will.
I'm just saying that sometimes, I feel like an alien who doesn't really remember who he was created to be. Sometimes I think that there has to be more to following Christ than what the church says. Sometimes I long for a more pure, a more true, a more intimate relationship with the God who chose me. Sometimes I feel like I gave up my life for a cause I knew little about. I've spend many years talking to God and very few actually listening to him. I would like to hear, "He loves you." not because its what we are supposed to say to each other, or because it's the christian thing to do. I want to hear it because it's true. I want to hear it because it's real. I want to hear it because I want to wake up. I want to remember. I want to know. And I want to be truly thankful that the old has gone and the new has come.
