Is Mary Poppins like Jesus?

Sometimes I wake up with ideas in my head of things to write about. There have been times when I have gotten busy doing other tasks of the day or I have ignored those thoughts completely, but I don't do that anymore. I have come to acknowledge that this is one of the ways God speaks to me. Now I know that some of you doubt that God speaks to people today, or maybe you have a hard time grasping the concept that God can speak to us through different forms of communication. But I am telling you that I feel this is how God speaks to me most of the time. Sometimes I question these thoughts, like the one I woke up with this morning. Mary Poppins is like Jesus. No, I am not joking. I woke up with the song "A Spoonful of Sugar" running through my head and then as I lay there I started thinking about the character Mary Poppins and the similarities between her and Jesus. Ok, for those of you still reading (because I know this isn't very theological) just stick with it and you will see that there is a method to my madness. Mary Poppins was sent to a family that wasn't really behaving like a family anymore. The kids were unruly and starved for attention from their parents, the father was obsessed with his work and outward appearances and the mother was passionate about her social causes but very little else. In "flies" Mary Poppins, "Practically perfect in every way." Mary Poppins had her work cut out for her. The children were accustomed to a militaristic approach to their learning and life and Mary Poppins offered life lessons with structure and love. There were guidelines to follow, but not just for the children, the parents also had some things they needed to "tidy up" in their own lives. Mary Poppins showed this family that having hope is important in life. Hope for things to get better, hope that there is positive amidst the negative and hope that this life here on earth isn't all that there is. Stop and smell the flowers and give to those in need; "feed the birds, tuppence a bag." And let's not forget about the infamous carpet bag that Mary Poppins carried with her. Now, I have a friend whom I tease often about her "Mary Poppins" bag. We will be at church or out and about and I have seen her start to dig through this black Coach bag while almost losing herself inside of it and pull out just about anything that might be needed. Need a band-aid? She has a whole first aid kit! Need a drink of water? She has a bottle ready for you! Need a piece of tape or a permanent marker? She has a mini Hobby Lobby just inside this leather labyrinth! Seriously, there is a lot of stuff in this bag! So, what does any of this have to do with Jesus and the word of God? Mary Poppins is a lot like Jesus in that she came to this family on earth to give guidance and restore hope and love. She was only here for a short time but made an everlasting impact on those she met. In a quote from the book, Mary Poppins, by author P.L. Travers she says, "Mary Poppins herself had flown away, but the gifts that she brought would remain for always." Jesus was sent to earth by God his father to teach and to show the endless magnitude of God's love for us. Jesus has given us many gifts even though he is not her on Earth with us. Jesus gives us hope. God offers us grace. Jesus gave us his life so that we may gain eternal life. Jesus also made may disciples and gained followers to ensure that the gifts of God will always remain with us. That Mary Poppins bag that my friend has? The Bible is like this bag. Open up the Bible and you will find a "band-aid" for your wounds, "The same Spirit gives faith to that one person. And, to another, that one Spirit gives gifts of healing." (1 Corinthians 12:9) How about that drink of water? "If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from that person’s heart, as the Scripture says.” (John 7:38) What about something to fix your problems? "Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks." (Philippians 4:6) So again, there is a lot of "stuff" in the Bible that can help us through this journey we call life-but you have to be willing to open it up first. I was reading in the book of 1 Peter today and this verse stood out to me, "People who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you are doing wrong. Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again." (1 Peter 2:12) This is what it is all about. This verses right here tells us to live a good life so that others will see this and will then in turn want to live like us in order to give all the glory to God! Making disciples for Christ shouldn't be about the quantity, it should be about the quality. What do your words say about Christ? What do your actions show about Christ? Do your choices in life point others toward Christ? No one is perfect, even Mary Poppins. Jesus Christ is the only one who walked on this earth as a perfect man. We are created in His image, but we are not Him. Living the best life that we can while making disciples for Christ is what we are called to do. Whether we use our words, our actions or the choices that we make, others will look to us for encouragement, hope and direction. We must be prepared. Not perfect, prepared. We can be prepared by equipping ourselves with the full armor of God and His word. The Bible is like Mary Poppins bag, it holds way more than should be possible. We need to use it to help guide us in our journey of faith so that we can lead others closer to Him. Jesus came, he saw, he made disciples. He didn't look around and choose those who appeared to have it all together-he chose those who needed God in order to live an abundant life and we should do the same. I want to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the movie of Mary Poppins, "Never judge things by their appearance, even carpet bags. I'm sure I never do." Mary Poppins Blessings-Nicole