Thor: Ragnorak Review
A lesson in why people are always more important than things.
Asgard is not a place, it's a people
The latest addition to the Marvel universe is Thor: Ragnorak, a roaring adventure filled with extra laughs and all the Asgardian action that we have come to love. New director Taika Waititi has brought a fun element to the franchise and introduced some great new characters (even voicing one himself).
As in other Thor movies, most of the action centres upon the fate of Thor’s home world, Asgard, and the action of his family. Loki is there to cause mischief, but it is their exiled sister who eventually arrives to cause chaos and destruction. It's up to Thor and his new team of heroes to stop her.
To complete his mission, Thor draws on the wisdom of his dying Father who said, "Asgard is not a place, it's a people.”
This becomes a key phrase as the movie comes to a close, however you will have to go and see the film to find how. The sentiment behind it was to help Thor see that the people of his world are far more important than the gold towers and rainbow bridges.
And that is the same sentiment God has about the church.
The Church is not a place, it's a people
Speaking of the church, Paul, says:
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:19-20)
You see, we have been brought into God’s family through Jesus’ death and resurrection. So now anyone who puts their trust in him is welcomed as one of God’s people, the church.
What really matters to God is not the building
What this means though, is that the building you meet in is not your church. Whether you meet in a tin shed or an ancient cathedral, in a stadium or a living room, whether you use flashing lights or glowing candles it doesn’t matter. Why? Because the church is not a place, it’s a people.
What really matters to God is when his people get together and worship him. Sure your local church probably needs a place to gather and its ok to want it to look nice (my church is even doing some renovations at the moment). But that building is not the church, it is the people who gather inside of it who are the church. Remember the church is not a place, it's a people.
So what?
If this is true, then what should we do about it?
1. Don’t neglect going to church
If it’s true that the church is the people, then make sure you gather with them. They won’t always be perfect or get everything right, but meeting with God’s people is a privilege that Jesus died for. So make the effort to regular meet with your church family.
2. Love God’s people
If it’s true that the church is the people, then focus on loving them. Don’t get distracted by what your building does or doesn’t have, instead focus on the people in the building who you can love and encourage.
Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.—Hebrews 10:24-25
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