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| "One shall stand, one shall fall," --Optimus Prime |
Sacrifice is a lost virtue in today's society and yet it is so central to the Gospel. Social media, selfies, and an entire industry of reality shows centered around vapid self-centered people have conspired to baptize this generation in narcissism.
As a result, the Christian idea of sacrificing for others often falls on deaf ears.
As a child of the 1980s, I was one of many in that generation traumatized by the death of Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots. Any child of the 1980s knows who the Transformers are--robots in disguise! The evil Decepticons and the heroic Autobots were locked in a struggle for survival throughout the mid 1980s. The cartoon show was part of my afternoon routine growing up. If I didn't have a VHS tape ready to "time record" them, I needed to be there. There were no such things as DVR, On Demand, or Netflix. How did we survive?
Optimus Prime was my favorite. I didn't own his toy until much later, however, as he was expensive. My Transformers were usually the cheaper ones. So, the Autobots in my bedroom were often being led by lesser robots in hopes that Optimus Prime would one day arrive. Then I had the great idea of pausing my VHS tapes and drawing the Transformers one by one. I then cut them out and played with paper dolls of my heroes. It was quite impressive. I had a complete set of drawings. And if one of them ripped or got faded, I just drew a new one!
Anyway, after several seasons, the cartoon series made the leap to the big screen in Transformers: The Movie. This seemed exciting. Optimus Prime on the big screen! That booming voice! That awesome heroism! The epic smackdown between Prime and Megatron! That is until kids realized that the toy makers who inspired the show apparently needed to create a new line of toys and directed the storyline of the movie to kill off all that we held dear.
That included Optimus Prime.
As the Autobots on earth were nearly slaughtered, Optimus Prime showed up to save the day. Graced with his own musical montage of the 1980s rock anthem called "The Touch," our dear Optimus Prime single-handedly defeated the entire Decepticon army.
Then he faced Megatron with the promise that "One shall stand, one shall fall."
Optimus was rocking it. Then that annoying new toy Hot Rod interfered and Megatron got a massive shot in at Optimus Prime. Although Megatron was also mortally wounded (so that they could introduce the new Galvatron toy!) Optimus Prime died and handed off the leadership of the Autobots to another new toy. This was about 40 minutes into the movie. Oh, and annoying Hot Rod ended up becoming the new leader by the end of the film. What a kick to the gut!
There was weeping, gnashing of teeth and rending of garments. I would say that I went on a hunger strike, but as a chunky kid, I likely sought comfort in the house of TastyKake.
In fact, so scarred by Prime's death was I that when I saw the Michael Bay film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and witnessed Prime die on screen a second time, I turned to my friend and stated, "Optimus Prime better come back to life before this movie ends or I will burn this theater to the ground!"
Although I joined in the massive letter writing campaign that ultimately convinced Hasbro to bring Optimus Prime back from the dead, I learned a great lesson as a heart-broken 10 year old.
John 15:12-14 says:
"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you."
Today's generation is so soaked in narcissism that it is missing out on what Optimus Prime understood: there is honor in laying down your life for others. Jesus modeled this in His own sacrifice for our sins, but it was really the culmination of living an ENTIRE life putting Himself aside in favor of serving others.
Jesus laid down His life for our salvation, but He also continually laid down self in every action He took during her earthly life.
On Memorial Day, when we stop to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom, it's probably a good idea to stop and think about our priorities in life and how we choose to live.
Do we put others first? Do we serve others? Do we understand the life-altering freedom-giving power of sacrifice? When asked to sum up the greatest commandments, Jesus said to love God with all of your being and to love your neighbor as yourself.
In order to fully embrace the Christian life that Jesus has in mind for us, we need to embrace our inner Optimus Prime (complete with 1980s rock anthem of your choice) as we slay the Decepticon armies surrounding mankind.
Sacrifice. Don't miss it. When you "lose" your life as you narcissistically define it, you will gain a life beyond your comprehension just like Optimus Prime.
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