This past Saturday’s cohort reminded me of a thought that I had while watching the most recent Tom Holland Spiderman.  At the end of the previous movie, Far From Home, Spiderman’s true identity as Peter Parker is revealed to the world and in No Way Home his world begins to fall apart.  He is demonized by the tabloids and is blamed for the death of Mysterio and is dragged through the mud by the feds and the media. Because of the controversy he and friends are rejected from their college of choice.  It takes a toll on Peter but he mostly is upset at how it takes a toll on his loved ones.

In a desperate attempt to set things “right” he reaches out to Dr. Strange who reluctantly agrees to assist him.  Not understanding the gravity of what he was asking for, Peter causes the spell to go awry and the fabric of their universe begins to unravel. Villains from across the multiverse then begin to appear and to make a long story short, he ends up deciding to try and help them, fails, and loses his aunt May in the process.  We then discover that two other spidermans (the good ‘ol Toby and Andrew versions) have also appeared in this universe and they are able to join forces with the Tom Spiderman, to stop/help the villains.  After concocting a plan they are eventually able to heal all the villains and send them back to their universes. (Lots of other details happen but for the sake of this blog its not relevant haha)

There are a lot of great moments in this movie toward the end where we get to see the three Spidermans interact.  There are some goofy moments of course but what stood out to me the most were the moments of compassion and understanding.  When they are all first introduced to one another the Tom Spiderman had just lost his aunt and feels he is to blame.  His guilt is bearing down on him and as Toby tries to comfort Tom he refuses because he feels there’s no way that Toby would understand what he was going through.  As emotional as this moment was I chuckled a little because as you may know, if you are a fan of spiderman, they have all had this moment in one way or another.  They of all people could relate to what he was going through.  They were able to extend compassion and empathy in that moment and helped him to avoid walking down a dark path.

I was so moved by how kind and understanding they were to Tom that it brought a question to mind:  

If I met another version of myself from a different universe, how much kinder would my words be to him than they are to myself?  

Caleb’s share this week about how it’s so much easier to believe for others the promises of God than it is for ourselves reminded me of this revelation.  I know so many of us can relate to this feeling. So it begs the questions, why is it this way? What about our nature causes us to doubt ourselves so much even when we can see it for others?  Are we not all created equal? Are we not all creations of God?

I think there is a lie of the enemy that attempts to work its way into our belief system from the day we are born.  It teaches us that our value is not the same as others.  It teaches us that God may be good, but we are not good enough to receive.  It teaches us to blame ourselves for things out of our control.  These attacks are strategic with the intent to distort the identity of God and our identity as God’s children and the only way to fight back is with the truth.  

If this is something that you relate to I want to challenge you to fight back by declaring the truth about God’s identity and your identity.

Here are a few declarations to get you started but find the truth that you need to believe and begin to declare it over yourself like Spiderman: with both kindness and compassion.

I am enough.

I am loved.

I am creative.

I am amazing!

I am uniquely and wonderfully made.

I have all that I need.

The skills that I have are enough for this moment.

God’s promises are good.

God loves me just as He loves others.

God sees me with compassion and kindness.

God wants to partner with me.

God wants to see our dreams come true.

God’s grace and mercy are enough.

God made me.

I am made in His image.