Bye Buddy! I Hope You Find Your Dad!

Buddy the Elf and Union with Christ

What do Mr. Narwhal and the Apostle Paul have in common? Or, along similar lines, what hath Paul and Papa Elf to do with one another?

They serve to help reshape an identity.

For Papa Elf and Mr. Narwhal, it was to help Buddy learn his newfound identity as a human from New York City. For Paul, he was tireless in his effort to help believers know who they were “in Christ.” One learned he really wasn’t an elf, so he left his “elf culture” behind to discover who he truly was. Others crucify their sinful flesh, leave it behind while living out their days discovering Christ in them.

If you think about it, the storyline of Elf is much like the Christian life. The old has gone and the new has come. But that new can be darn near impossible to discover and live into. It is so much easier to continue putting syrup on noodles and chew used gum. It feels normal to lie, covet, steal, lust, gossip, and fear my fellow man. It feels so beyond me to sprout love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. An elf feels more comfortable in yellow tights and a green top, attempting to hug a raccoon than he does wearing a business suit, attempting to court an attractive employee. An “in Christ” believer feels more comfortable wearing her old, scraggly clothes than she does being clothed in righteousness. It just feels more natural. Easier. Normal. We’re used to the North Pole. That’s where we fit in. We're used to Egypt. There we at least had food and a bed. We’re used to the sexual immorality and betrayal and backstabbing and selfish motives. That’s where we feel at home. But Buddy the Elf wasn’t really an elf. At least not anymore. He had been an orphan due to an unexpected and unwanted pregnancy between college sweethearts, Walter Hobbs and Susan Wells. Thanks to overhearing several malicious elves, Buddy learned he was not an elf, but human. After confirming the truth with Papa Elf, Buddy left it all behind to discover who he truly was.

And Christian, you and I aren’t slaves to sin anymore. We have an Older Brother who has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and given us righteous status. He left His home to give us a new one. He lived, died, was buried, and rose again - giving us keys to the kingdom. Thanks to you overhearing someone “gossip the gospel,” you believed. You’re not controlled by sin anymore. You have a new Master. One who loved you and gave Himself for you. “In Christ Jesus,” the old has gone and the new has come. We have a new identity.

Mr. Narwhal and Papa Elf helped Buddy know and live into the truth.

“Bye Buddy! I hope you find your dad!”

“Pass through the seven levels of the candy cane forest, through the sea of swirly-twirly gum drops, and then walk through the Lincoln Tunnel.”

“Stay away from peep shows and used gum.”

“Take this snow globe of the Empire State Building.”

“Your father is Walter Hobbs.”

The Apostle Paul spilled gallons of ink helping us do something similar. For example:

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

“the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Colossians 1:12-13).

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7).

“count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).

We don’t belong to the ruler of the kingdom of the air anymore. That’s not us. We are new. New creatures. A new creation. The old us no longer lives. Christ lives in us. In fact, we are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). It may not feel like it, but it’s true. In Christ Jesus, this who we are. Buddy may not have felt like a human. But he was. He eventually found the world’s best cup of coffee and a pretty girlfriend. We may not feel holy. But we are. In Christ, eventually we see spiritual fruit appearing from our branches. We joyfully drink from the cup and love our neighbor as ourselves.

Buddy would have never known it nor believed it had Papa Elf not told him and Mr. Narwhal not affirmed it to be true, encouraging him in the journey. The New Testament has made it clear to us. And the letters of Paul drip with prayers for the church to hear it, know it, believe it, and live out the reality.

Buddy found his dad and the message became a reality.

Our Dad has gone after us. The barrier has been removed. He in us and us in Him. It’s not just a message. It’s reality. Stop eating the yellow snow. It’s not who you are. Go and live until Christ is formed in you.

(Images found on Google Images and linked here, here, and here.)