STAR WARS Salvation

Ok, I know the title sounds weird, but it fits nicely to this post...

I take a theatrical sword fighting class where you learn to "act" a fight. Meaning, it's staged fighting used for plays and films. Well, every so often we in the Fellowship of Christian Swordsmen get together and perform a play with a salvation theme at churches or for the Boy Scouts or something to that effect. This time we had a STAR WARS theme. And you would be amazed at the results.

Everyone knows what STAR WARS is. Everyone has heard of Darth Vader and lightsabers. So it was no surprise that when we got on stage, dressed in Jedi garb and sporting broomstick lightsabers that hushed whispers began circulating throughout the room of elementary school kids. Our audience had been waiting for this (or so said the youth director dude at the church) for a few weeks. And so, to the blaring brass theme of the STAR WARS saga, our little play began.

It lasted maybe 45 minutes, with no mess ups (thank the King). In our version of a Jedi council (in which I was a Master..tee hee) we discussed the beliefs of one Master Ben Sal'i, a very experienced Jedi who had placed his faith in an all powerful God, believing HIM to be "the Force". In this way, we shared the Gospel with these kids. There were several different instances of teaching sprinkled throughout the play, and since it was STAR WARS, we had to add a good Jedi vs. dark Jedi melee in the end. The kids oohed and aahed over the fight, cheering their favorites. And (of course!), Good prevailed over evil.

So, after we get offstage, sweating, our crazy makeup smeared and our interesting galactic hair-dos a little deflated, the youth pastor tied up our message within the play with a short lesson. We all sat in a nearby Sunday school room and after a word with the King asking to touch the hearts of the kids, we waited.

The youth pastor comes in and speaks with our director. After a joyful laugh, she asks if the kids would like to see the fight scene again. They did, and so we lined up outside the doors to the children's theater room. But then word of what the pastor had said begins to spread down the line of actors...32 kids had come down to accept Christ!!!

God can work through any circumstance, any thing, or in this case, any play! He took a short little STAR WARS play and spoke through it to the hearts of these 32 kids. I was so happy during that extra fight scene, I don't think I looked the part of a calm, cool, and collective Jedi Master.

Praise God for HIS awesome power and majesty! Welcome to the family of God, kids!