Hopecloaked

For some reason, our current culture loves the concept of zombies; a mindless horde, insatiably hungry, incurable, unstoppable and unlovable. I guess there are different aspects of appeal, the heightened drama it allows for in shows, the over-the-top violence that is inherent with the genre, or any number of other ingredients that my film palette cannot yet detect. But I think that there is something beyond the cinematographic reasoning that draws us to such films; something deep and nearly subconscious. I think, to some degree, we relate on a visceral, and most basic human level with the zombies.

They, in their gruesome and dramatic manner remind us of ourselves. They personify our own insatiable hunger for something more out of life; something deeper; something to sate the hunger, to quiet the urge, to fill the void.

Because we all have a void.

We all have that gaping hole in our lives driving us from one thing to the next. In the movies, the zombies leave a wake of death and contagion. In reality our wakes are much more subtle, but equally destructive. We substitute blood and brains for sex, coffee, and a nice pair of boots. We gain more followers on Instagram, and document the perfect lighting in which we showcase mountains we will never work up the courage to climb. The only way to overcome our depression, apathy and low self-esteem is to trade them in for pride. We ignore our insecurities, because it usually gets us money, and we envy false success in the broken world around us because as far as we know that is the only world that exists. So we move, mindless, from one hobby, one job, one ankle deep relationship on to the next, in our minds always trading up, but only ever judging our success based on the judgment of those around us. Everyone better than someone, everyone worse than someone else. We move as a horde, we grow in rank, no one wins, everyone dies. It’s the life we’ve chosen.

It’s the lie we’ve chosen.

Because the truth is, we can’t satisfy the need we have. It is outside of our ability. We were never supposed to fill the void by our own means. Whether we are aware of it or not, we aren’t looking for an object, or anything material, we are looking for a relationship. We are looking for Him. Not religion, or God as a concept, that we only feed our pride and fuel our fear. No, we need a real relationship with the living person that He is. He wants to meet you more than you want anything. He wants to fill the void, and He is literally the only thing that can.

It is totally free, but it will cost us everything; our pride, our fear, the dysfunction that kept us alive for so long, and yes, even the good opinion of others because the horde knows no other way. From the outside looking in, we will look crazy. People will think that we are defying all reason, that we are abandoning them. And they will be right. We will have traded their reason for His trust. And it will be scary, but choosing otherwise will be our own personal hell.

Wake up. Let’s open our eyes, the light will be blinding at first, but after the initial pain and shock, the world will gain a beauty that it never before possessed.  Fear and pride melt when exposed to true light.  In the light, not only will we see Truth; we will know Him.

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” C.S. Lewis