Revisionist History

In Ephesians 2, we see the stark contrast between who we were - the trajectory of a life doomed to destruction - and who we can be in Christ, in light of what He has done for us.
1And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,2in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,3among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.4But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,5even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)...

Contrary to what we might think, our lives are not a clean slate - we are uniquely wired in a certain way when we come into this world, born with a unique personality and a potential to live for God...or not.   Because we are born with that propensity to sin, we have to make that conscious choice to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior so we can experience the life He has in store for us.  Even if we surround ourselves with good influences, engage in positive relationships, and make proper choices, if we get the big choice wrong, we will not be saved - we cannot save ourselves.   So, we can try to be good by human effort or we can allow Christ's goodness to flood our lives.

In 1st Corinthians 6, we are reminded of the change that has been made possible through the presence of Christ invading our lives and radically altering our hearts, changing our trajectory.  Verse 11 says that:
(11) you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
We read on in verse 14:14And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.
And this in verse 17:17But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 

Ah, another potential big movie, again from the Disney universe, the category of redeemed or misunderstood villians - how the villianness of Sleeping Beauty actually became who she was, and not necessarily the embodiment of evil, according to the Plugged In review of the film, Maleficent.

The USA Today review of the film says that:

Adults know that characters can have a multiplicity of impulses. Generally, kids get it too (witness the popularity of Frozen and the conflicted queen Elsa). But at a screening, a child voiced her confusion to a parent: "Is Maleficent good or bad?" It's a valid query. In a PG-rated movie, kids should be given a clearer sense of motivation.

We're reminded that:

Familiar to Disney audiences, Maleficent is a horned, witch-like figure who, in her original form, was draped in black and purple and had a greenish face. Her haughty demeanor spoke volumes — none of them good.

Angelina Jolie powerfully conveys her character's menace. Though with red glossed lips and sculpted cheekbones — minus the putrid-green complexion — she's a more glamorous incarnation.

Here, Maleficent's sympathetic side feels tacked-on. No doubt the filmmakers figured fans of Beauty and the Beast and Wicked would be enthralled by a conflicted character. But Maleficent's back story and psyche are more vague and less developed than those of the Beast or Wicked's Elphaba.

The idea of a backstory of a villian is nothing new - George Lucas spent the better part of 3 Star Wars films showing us how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, and even more time trying to convince us that there was still good in him.

And, isn't that the point of these revisionist presentations?   The Wicked Witch of the West became the conflicted and misunderstood Elphaba in the very fine musical, Wicked.   The Snow Queen of Hans Christian Andersen was portrayed in a milder sense in Frozen as the tormented Elsa.   And, now we have Maleficent transformed before our very eyes.

In a spiritual way, I'm all for revisionism.  Our very lives can take a dramatically different course when Jesus interrupts our timeline.   A life that began in depravity that can only be partially dressed up by good influences and right choices can be radically changed by the presence of Jesus and our acceptance of salvation.  God can re-write our life story - He can bring clarity out of confusion and delight out of despair.  He provides meaning and purpose; He is our Redeemer, our Savior.   Sure, we will have our struggles and our internal conflict, but God can direct us in working through those life issues that threaten to derail us.

But, we can attempt to revise the story without true redemption, and that's dangerous.   By chalking up our devious ways to being "misunderstood," without the true change of heart and a passion for holiness, we can shortchange the work that God wants to do in us.   We can go easy on ourselves and attribute our degradation to "well, that's just the way I am," or blame harmful people or circumstances.  Or, we can fail to intervene in the life of someone else because we think they are either beyond change or do not need to change.   Truth is, we all need to change - not to gloss over our sinful patterns, but to allow the Spirit to do His work from the inside out.   We can be better, but we have to realize that doesn't come merely by trying to modify behavior through human strength; rather, life change transpires as we realize that we can't truly change by human means - but through the Spirit, we can.