Queen Elsa: “No, no I can’t. I don’t know how…Oh I’m such a fool; I can’t be free! No escape from the storm inside of me! I can’t control the curse!”
Princess Anna: “You don’t have to be afraid. We can work this out together. We’ll reverse the storm you’ve made…. We’ll face this thing together.”
Queen Elsa has been a favorite for both the young and the old alike. What is it about Elsa that people connect with so easily? Is it because a part of us can relate to her? Okay, maybe we can’t relate to her icing abilities, but is there some part of us that struggles with something internally? Something we hope that no one else finds out about? A struggle that seems to win no matter how far you run or how many “gloves” you wear?
I was watching Frozen one afternoon when I was struck by how similar Elsa’s song was to my own heart at different seasons in my life. The need to be free. The need to control the curse born within. But let’s pause a moment and talk about this curse…
Elsa was born with the power to turn things into ice. We were born with a sin curse. The Bible says,
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thought.”
Like Elsa, we cry out, “I can’t be free. There’s no escape from the storm inside of me.” We try. We put on a brave face. We wipe our slate clean and start over. We run. We hide. We layer on the gloves. But inside the storm brews. Inside we’re reminded that we can’t really escape. Elsa built herself a wonderful palace. She changed her dress; she changed her hair. But in an insist, she was reminded of the mess she had made. The old familiar fears crashed in on her. The curse that she tried to escape, never really left. Anna suggested that she simply fix it, to which, Elsa wisely answered, “I can’t. I don’t know how.” She had done all that she knew was right and proper. She stuffed feelings – and people – aside. Suddenly, a tall castle, a better dress, another pair of gloves wouldn’t do. There’s no escape from the curse inside….BUT CHRIST.
“For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
The message for us is clear. And thankfully, it’s simple. Anna echoes the words of Christ, “We can work this out TOGETHER.” The message isn’t to run to your sister. But to run to Christ. Without Christ, there is nothing to deal with the curse inside of us. The sin curse we were born with will continue to consume us until it takes us to our grave…and then to Hell. It’s the work of Christ on the cross that confronts this curse head on. As Elsa later learned, it’s an act of true love that defeats the curse. It’s the sacrifice that changes their condition. A heart of ice is made new. Our heart of ice is made new by the sacrifice that Christ made for us on the cross.
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
For the Queen Elsa that cries out, “I can’t control the curse,” all we need to remember is that Christ’s sacrifice has defeated the curse, and we’ve only to turn to Him.
“For if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” John 8:36
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:26,27
Christian Author: A.M. Heath 