Marvel Studio’s Captain Marvel tells the story of Carol Danvers, a United States
Airforce pilot that gets abducted by an alien race known as the Kree. Of course, Carol doesn’t
know any of this. She doesn’t even know her own name. While test-piloting an
experimental plane with a newly designed lightspeed engine, Carol and he
co-pilot come under attack by Kree invaders. Carol survives a violent
crash-landing, but when the experimental engine explodes, Carol absorbs massive
amounts of energy before falling unconscious. Realizing her potential, the Kree
take Carol back to their planet, remove all memory of her life one earth, and
train her as one of their own.
For six years (and the majority of the
movie), Carol believes that she is a Kree warrior called Vers—the only letters
on her dog-tags that remained readable after her crash. As Vers, Carol fights
an intergalactic battle against the shape-shifting Skrulls that eventually
leaves her stranded on a backwards planet know only as C-53. Of course, the
locals call it Earth.
After teaming up with Nick Fury and
reuniting with her best friend Maria, Vers begins to uncover the truth about
herself. “I keep having these... memories,” Vers tells Fury, “I see flashes. I
think I have a life here. But I can't tell if it's real.”
Later, Vers confronts the Skrull commander
Talos, saying, “You don’t know me! I don’t even know me!” Just then, Maria
speaks up, saying, “I know you. You are Carol Danvers… My best friend, who
supported me as a mother and a pilot when no one else did. You were smart, and
funny, and a huge pain in the @&%. And you were the most powerful person I
knew, way before you could shoot fire through your fists!”
With the help of her friends, Carol
Danvers finally discovers who she really is. At the movie’s outset, one her fellow
Kree warriors tells Carol, “I want you to be the best version of yourself.” He
gets his wish—though, perhaps, not in quite the way he imagined—as Carol
becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes.
Perhaps Carol isn’t the only one wrestling
with an identity crisis. Do you know who you are? Who you’re supposed to be? The
Bible talks a lot about your identity—specifically, your identity in Christ. One
reason we get so discouraged and frustrated in the Christian life is that we
forget who we are and, like Carol, we believe lies about ourselves. But here’s
what the Bible says about your identity in Christ:
- You are God’s own special possession. (1 Peter 2:9)
- You are chosen by the God who created the universe. (Ephesians 1:3-4)
- You are loved beyond compare. (1 John 4:19)
- You are worth dying for. (1 John 4:10)
- You are forgiven. (1 John 1:9)
- You are God’s child. (1 John 3:1)
- You are secured for all eternity. (John 10:28-29)
- You are set free. (Galatians 5:1)
- You are God’s masterpiece. (Ephesians 2:10)
Let this list sink in for just a minute.
Don’t skim over it. Read over this list and take it in. This is YOU. If you’re
in Christ, this is who you are. This is your permanent identity. It can never
be removed, messed up, forsaken, taken away, or changed. This your identity in
Christ. Through faith in Christ, like Captain Marvel, you become the best
version of yourself.
