Last Sunday, Dave shared a vision for Newsong in 2018, and finished it with an important challenge: Go see The Greatest Showman.
If you know me, you know I think this is a homework assignment we should take VERY seriously. I saw The Greatest Showman and have many, many thoughts about it… but because I also hate spoilers, today I want to talk about something else – a little book that I consider like a “brother” to that movie: Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire.
It’s about this special animal who tries to get into the zoo, but a couple of mean zookeepers kick him out. While he’s sitting outside, two little kids come along and ask him why he wants to be in the zoo. He proceeds to show them all the stuff he can do: he has spots that can change colors like magic – blue, red, purple, green and even multi-colored spots. The kids are very impressed, but in the end (spoiler alert) they help him realize, “You don’t want to be in the zoo – the CIRCUS is the place for you!”
Like The Greatest Showman, this is Newsong’s story! But the sad thing is, so many of us can relate to that very ironic title, wishing to be put in the zoo. The zoo is a place of cages and categorization – your reward for being TYPICAL is to be locked up. Umm… WHY do we want that again???
Meanwhile, the CIRCUS is a place that celebrates UNIQUENESS. You go to the circus, and it’s like, “I’ve NEVER seen anything like that before!!” Nothing there is normal; it’s a beautiful revelation.
And yes, they may call us FREAKS. But that’s just because we don’t fit into their categories. It may be infuriating to them, but actually it’s the greatest compliment: “There is no one like you.”
“For you are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” –Ephesians 2:10
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Dave Brubaker is Newsong’s Communications Pastor and movie lover.
