Identity: The Lion King and Christian Life

Do you remember the original animated Lion King film? Sure, the live action remake exists but it’s the animated film that made most of us love it so much. As children it was perhaps more about entertainment than anything else but it’s a film that has some good life lessons that can be looked at from a Christian perspective.

One of the most memorable lines is, “everything the light touches is our kingdom”. That’s a part of Mufasa’s morning lesson for Simba. Watch the latter part of the same lesson from the remake.

Mufasa teaches Simba that a true king doesn’t seek what he will take but rather what he will give. He also mentions that life is a circle and that it exists in a delicate balance. The essence of this is that we all have our place and part to play in life even if it means facing difficult circumstances and situations (a lion eating an antelope and then dying and being used by plants to grow). We must know who we are in order to fulfil our purpose in life.

However, when Simba is forced to run away, he meets Timon and Pumba who conveniently tell him that what he has been taught so far is wrong and that the “circle of life” is a lie and “life is a line (here’s a low-resolution clip). It’s a meaningless line of indifferences. And we’re all just running towards the end of the line, and one day we will reach the end and that’ll be it.” We might pass this off as unimportant and think it’s silly and laugh it off but isn’t that exactly what the world tells us about life? The world says that everything ends when we reach the end of our lives here on earth and we so easily buy into it. We let this philosophy of meaninglessness take over our thoughts and we tend to forgot who we really are.

Timon and Pumba teach Simba the “trouble-free (problem-free) philosophy” aka Hakuna Matata. It’s a fun and catchy song that we’ve all got playing in our heads (or is that just me?).

But wait. When you think about it, Hakuna Matata is really a cop out. It’s a coping mechanism of sorts. It’s a way to shirk responsibility. A way to live irresponsibly and in an illusion that nothing matters and there is no real purpose or meaning to life. But as Christians, we must know and understand that there is purpose because we have been designed and design has purpose because we have a Designer.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

Simba is so caught up in this new found and rather attractive philosophy that he soon adopts this new way of life and forgets who he is. He buys into the philosophy that life is a line and is meaningless. He rejected his true identity- that of a king!

That is exactly how we tend to behave as well. We face difficulties and our past comes back to haunt us, and we run right into the arms of a world that tells us that life has no purpose. We let ourselves be blinded by a problem-free philosophy. We forget who we are- children of the One True King!

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

Interestingly, the movie actually goes on to demonstrate that life is indeed a circle and the Hakuna Matata philosophy might just be an illusion after all. Watch this scene (unfortunately, this doesn’t cover the whole scene but you get a gist of it).

Isn’t it beautiful and poetic?

The film might have just used this scene as a way of showing us how Rafiki finds out that Simba is alive but it’s also an apt depiction of the circle of life. Simba’s fur is used by a dragonfly, and then used by a bird, ingested by a giraffe, collected by a dung beetle, blown in the wind, collected by ants, then picked up by Rafiki, etc. A circle. The circle of life.

Simba doesn’t even know what’s happening. He probably didn’t even realise that he had lost some fur in the first place. He has been completely taken up by the philosophy of Hakuna Matata and forgets that there is more to life than what he’s experiencing. He doesn’t even realise that he has a purpose in life. He doesn’t know that he is useful. He doesn’t understand that his identity is actually a source of hope. That’s sort of like us- unaware of what’s really happening. Or rather, blind to the working of God. We think that this is all there is to life. We merely survive when we were really called to thrive!

They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

But Simba wasn’t always like this even though he was running away and afraid. He did try and tell them what he had been taught. He told them of the kings who were looking down upon him, watching over them from the sky. But they laughed. When they laughed, he doubted all that he had been taught. He was troubled, sure! But he doubted. He stopped believing that all of what he had been taught was true. Or maybe, he never really believed it to begin with. So, when others laughed at him, he had doubts and slowly believed them instead. He had forgotten who he is (not was…is). He had forgotten the key question- who am I?

Didn’t Peter begin to sink when he forgot that he was walking on water because of Christ’s power and instead looked at the world around him? But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:30,31

Why do we doubt our identity in Christ?

When Rafiki ends up finding Simba, he tells Simba, “The question is, who are you?” Simba’s reply? “I thought I knew. Now I’m not so sure.”

So, then, what will your answer be?

Who are you?

Think about that for a moment.

We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37

Rafiki knows who Simba is and he wants Simba to know it too. Rafiki asks Simba to follow him and Simba does but the road isn’t all that easy. He is barely able to keep up. He has to jump over numerous hurdles, break through entangling vines, but more importantly, he has to keep his eyes focused on Rafiki. That’s us. As we follow God, the road is rough and hard and we feel like we can’t keep up. But we must never take our eyes off God. We must never let our focus shift from God to all the hurdles that come our way. If we lose focus, we will forget who we truly are. It’s not an easy path but it is a path that gives us an identity.

Think of Rafiki as a picture of the Holy Spirit. He knows who we are. He never forgets. He is with us. He never tires and is always working to help us remember who we are. He knows who we are. He knows because He is in us. He knows that God started in us at the point of salvation through Christ and He knows that God is working since He (the Holy Spirit) is working and He is part of the Trinity. He moves us to believe even when the whole world might have forgotten and given up hope. He leads us back to God…to our true identity, destiny and purpose. He knows that our identity doesn’t rest in us but rather in God, our Father. That’s exactly why Rafiki does what he does in order to tell Simba who he is.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:14

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Philippians 3:20, 21

Rafiki seemingly confuses Simba when he doesn’t answer Simba’s question directly. Rafiki indirectly shows Simba who he is by first showing him Mufasa himself. He asks Simba to look at his reflection. As believers that’s us- abode of God Himself. We are God’s children (or as Rafiki would put it- “you are Mufasa’s boy.”) Once you have been saved, God now lives in you. But does He live through you? The question then is whether He has full control of the person He’s living and working in, or has been relegated to the deep recesses of our mind as a long-forgotten memory?

At times it might feel like God has forgotten us or even abandoned us but He is a God who never leaves. He never will.

We forget. He does not. He cannot!

“I never left you. I never will. Remember who you are,” Mufasa.

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8

“You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life.” Mufasa from the stars. “Remember who you are. You are my son.”

If you don’t know who you are, how can you really live? You might be able to survive without an identity but you need to embrace your identity to truly live.

That is exactly what God calls us to do. He is asking us to remember who we are. We were meant for so much more but we have forgotten our place. We must remember. We must remember that our identity rests solely in our Creator and His saving grace made known through our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

We must remember that we are God’s children. We must come back to God and take hold of the identity that He wants us to have. We must live as God intends, for that is truly living.

Let the Spirit of God in you guide you towards the God who made you. Listen to His voice as He asks you to remember who you are. Follow Him as He helps you experience God.

Find your identity in Christ. Take hold of it. Embrace it. Claim it.

Live the identity of God’s child!

“Change is good,” advices Rafiki. “But it’s not easy,” retorts Simba.

No, it isn’t, Simba. No, it isn’t.

But it is possible!

Rafiki as a picture of the Holy Spirit might be a good idea to look into for a future article. Stay tuned!