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Key Bible Verse: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, NIV).

Bonus Readings: Luke 5:1-11; Romans 8:29; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10; 1 John 1:1-4

In the beginning of the movie Spider-Man, Peter Parker undergoes a transformation. Bitten by a spider that's been subjected to genetic experimentation, Peter develops superpowers. Beneath his Lycra union suit beats the heart of a hero who nightly swings between the skyscrapers, looking for some endangered soul to rescue.

One such soul is Mary Jane, a young woman he secretly loves. She falls for Spider-Man—but not for Peter Parker. Mary Jane (M.J.) doesn't know who Spider-Man really is, even when he comes to her rescue.

Just after Peter and M.J. part company outside a diner late one night, four thugs approach M.J. and back her into an alley. Peter watches as one of the men pulls a knife on her. As M.J. tries to defend herself, suddenly Spider-Man appears, spins a web, and ties up the four bad guys.

Later, M.J. and Peter discuss her mysterious rescuer, and she confesses her love for Spider-Man. Mary Jane is impressed to learn that Peter "knows" Spider-Man. In fact, Peter admits he's had a "conversation" with Spider-Man about Mary Jane. She presses him to know what Peter told her hunky heartthrob.

Peter searches for the right words: "I said, um, 'Spider-Man,' I said, 'the great thing about M.J. is when you look in her eyes, and she looks back in yours, everything feels not quite normal, because you feel strong—and weak at the same time. You feel excited, and at the same time terrified. The truth is you don't know the way you feel, except you know the kind of man you want to be. It's as if you've reached the unreachable, and you weren't ready for it.'"

What Peter describes is the same phenomenon we experience when we come to know Jesus Christ. Looking at the God-Man, we feel weak, but he makes us strong; we are terrified, and at the same time more exhilarated than we've ever been in our lives; and in him we see the person we want to become.

Christ transforms lives. As Luis Palau said in his article "Notorious Conversions," "If it seems strange that grace can rescue child killers and drug traffickers, we have not begun to fathom God's ocean of mercy. Nor have we peered long enough into our own hearts … The answer comes only when I truly believe God saved a wretch like me, not just a nice guy with a few problems. Without Christ, we are really no different in God's eyes from the murderer on the gallows." ("Notorious Conversions," an editorial by Luis Palau, Christianity Today, April 1993, page 20.)

When we come to the point of looking into Christ's eyes, we recognize who we are and who he is. We understand our need to change and realize that he's the only one who can make us better than we are.

My Response

Movie Discussion Guide