Pinocchio and you

Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one" (John 10:22-30).

Do you know the story of Pinocchio? Pinocchio was a wooden puppet carved by a lonely toymaker who wanted a son. Magically, the puppet was given life. Before long, Pinocchio left the toymaker behind and got into several dangerous situations. Eventually, the puppet realized that he wanted live with his creator, and in the end he was reunited with the toymaker.

Pinocchio has been a favorite story with children for over 100 years because almost every child has, at some point, wondered what it would be like to run away from home. What most people don’t realize, however, was that originally the story of Pinocchio had a sinister ending. Pinocchio was written by Italian author Carlo Collodi and was serialized in a magazine over a two-year period; in the last episode of the story, Pinocchio’s adventures ended with his tragic death. It was only upon the urging of his editors that the author changed the ending and eventually reunited the puppet with the man who had carved him.

A sad ending for Pinocchio? Yet that is the reality for many children who actually do run away from home. Some are abused. Some are killed. Some become prostitutes or drug addicts. Life on the street is hard for anyone, but especially so for young people.

Why do children think about running away from home? Basically, there are three reasons. Some fantasize about leaving because they are bored. There’s nothing particularly wrong with their home life, but they crave excitement, maybe a hint of danger. Years ago, kids fantasized about running away to join the circus, a place that was filled with interesting people, bright lights, and was constantly moving from one new place to another. In our modern world, that same lure of adventure results in highschoolers applying to become foreign exchange students so that they experience life in far away places.

Other kids think about running away because they feel trapped in their home. They are tired of eating the same old meals. They chafe at having a curfew. They grumble about doing chores. They want the freedom to do what they want, when they want, with no one looking over their shoulder or criticizing them. Billy Joel gave voice to this frustration in his song "My Life."

The third reason kids think about running away is because of abuse. Some abuse is indirect, as when a child must take over running the house because a parent is always drunk or absent. Some abuse is verbal, whether it be constant criticism or frequent yelling. And some abuse is physical, ranging from beatings to sexual misuse. But the net effect of abuse is the same in all cases—the child becomes desperate to get away, and stay away forever.

In the Gospel of John chapter ten, Jesus tells us something reassuring: My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. That’s great, we think—no one can tear us away from the Savior. But visit your church and look at the empty pews; think about the people you were confirmed with who haven’t been to worship in ages. We wonder—was Jesus telling the truth? Where are these people if no one can snatch them from Jesus’ hand?

God is stronger than Satan. When the devil led a rebellion in heaven, God was the winner. When Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the desert, it was Jesus who prevailed. When the devil used Judas to betray Jesus and send Him to the cross, Jesus rose from the dead victorious. Satan cannot compete with God as an equal—God has no equal. So we can have absolute confidence that Jesus was telling the truth when He said, My Father…is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

But God does not pull our strings. Remember the story of Pinocchio? When the puppet was given life, the toymaker cut his strings. Pinocchio was given freedom. The toymaker did not want to force his creation to do anything; he wanted Pinocchio to love him without being pressured to. The same applies to God. He did not make us to be puppets, forced helplessly to do His will; He loves us and wants us to love Him in return, free from being pressured to do so.

So what happens when a Christian becomes unhappy? What happens when a Christian gets bored with religion and wants to experiment with something more exciting or edgy? What happens when a Christian gets tired of the same old meal of Jesus’ bread and wine, feels confined by the Ten Commandments, resents being told to love others as yourself? Sometimes Christians decide to run away from home—run away from God and His church. And although He has the power to prevent it, God lets them go.

And so we have youth who stop coming to church once they’ve been confirmed. We have young adults who stop attending once they head off to college. We have parents who drop their kids off for Sunday School but won’t stay for Bible study or worship. We have adults who move to a new city and never join a church. We have senior citizens who just lose interest in God’s house and eventually stop coming. These are the runaways. They were not snatched from God’s hand—it was their choice to leave.

Of course, Satan gave them a nudge. The devil has been giving nudges since the Garden of Eden. You’ll recall that Satan never forced anyone to disobey God—he only suggested an alternative. He implied that living under God’s rule was burdensome; he hinted that life could be more exciting if Adam and Eve lived it on their own terms. Yet Satan never snatched Adam or Eve from God’s hand; they chose for themselves to run away from their creator.

Why didn’t God stop them? Why doesn’t God stop us? Jesus revealed the reason in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Do you remember the story? The son asked his father for his share of the inheritance so he could take off and live however he wanted. The father did not have to give his son the money; he did not have to let the young man leave. But the father let the boy have his way, and soon the money was gone. When the high life was replaced with hardship and suffering, the son came to his senses—he regretted his foolish actions and returned home, where he was forgiven and restored as a member of the family.

Why did the father allow his son to go? In the father’s home there was love and safety; away from the father’s home there was disappointment and danger. But the father knew that it was pointless to keep the boy home against his will; such a situation would not fill their home with love. Instead he let the young man go, hoping that the unpleasant experiences awaiting him would serve as a wake-up call. Every day, the father went to the edge of his property, watching and hoping for his son’s return; yet he knew there was a very real possibility that the boy could meet an unpleasant end and never come back. He did not want his son to live apart from him; he did not want his son risking death because of his lifestyle. The father hoped that one day his son would return and want to live in his father’s house. And when that day came, he would be at the end of the lane, ready to offer forgiveness and welcome his son home.

When we are baptized, God makes a promise—no matter how badly we mess up, we can always neg Jesus for mercy and be forgiven. But baptism does not guarantee that we will be faithful to the end of life; many who have been baptized have wandered from the faith, never to return. Paul speaks of this in 1st Timothy chapter 6: the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows…Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge. Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. Money and false knowledge—just two examples of things that can lure a Christian away from the saving faith.

Like Pinocchio, there are times when we want out of our creator’s house. Sometimes we get bored—bored with the same old songs, bored with the same old sermons. Sometimes we chafe living under God’s rules—we want to have fun without worrying about what Jesus will say. And sometimes we resent God for allowing pain into our lives—we falsely accuse Him of being abusive when in reality He is only disciplining us. But there is a difference—discipline is intended to make us pay attention and try harder to be good. Abuse, on the other hand, is nothing more than an outlet for negative emotions. Discipline builds character; abuse destroys self-worth. Discipline leads to respect; abuse results in hatred and fear. Satan abuses; God disciplines those He loves. Hebrews chapter twelve tells us, No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

God allows us to walk away, if that is what we truly want—but He knows that Satan has filled the world with danger, and those who depart God’s house might never return. This is a terrible tragedy, because if we die apart from Jesus we will find heaven’s gates closed to us. Jesus described this awful situation in Luke chapter 13: Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, `Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, `I don't know you or where you come from.'

Satan hates God with every fiber of his being; as a result, the devil spares no effort in trying to lure us away from God’s home to be lost forever. Like the second version of Pinocchio, some eventually come to their senses, remember God’s promise of love made in baptism, and return to the church before it’s too late. But not every runaway story has a happy ending; like the first version of Pinocchio, many die tragically, forever separated from God’s love. Since no one knows when death will come, leaving God’s house for a time is a very risky proposition.

Since no one can snatch us from God’s hand, the only thing Satan can do is lie to us—lie about how much fun we can have when we run away from God. Satan is a master showman; he promotes sin with great care, emphasizing fun and excitement while downplaying risk and consequences. We need God’s help to see through all this false advertising. We need to make prayer a part of our daily routine, where we tell Jesus about the temptations we are facing and ask His help in resisting them. We need to be in church regularly, so that we can hear the truth through His word and receive strength in the sacrament of Holy Communion.

Originally, when Pinocchio ran away from home his misadventures ended in tragedy; thankfully, the author was persuaded to rewrite the ending of his story and Pinocchio lived happily ever after with his creator. When you run away from God, it need not end in tragedy. Christ is willing to write a new ending to the story of your life, an ending where you can live happily ever after with your creator in His home. And if you look closely, you’ll see that the Author of life wrote that new ending with blood—His blood, shed on the cross for you.