Mouse Theology

So we’re on this massive road-trip, and when we stay in places with television, our children are ecstatic.  They don’t get to watch television at home, so they greatly have enjoyed their morning fills of PBS Kids or Disney Channel programming in the mornings.  We know what they’re watching, and they aren’t allowed to watch any of the live-action sitcoms on either channel that seem aimed for an older demographic – or are aimed at turning younger demographics into premature teenagers.

This morning I was getting breakfast for the kids ready as they watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse .  It struck me what an interesting metaphor the show is theologically.

Each episode has a basic premise – some adventure or problem that needs to be solved or item/person that needs to be found.  Before beginning the quest in earnest, the characters are equipped by this mechanical device in Mickey’s Clubhouse that provides Mickey with tools they are likely to need to be successful.  These are stored in an entity referred to as Tootles, who can be summoned by calling.  Once Tootles appears, the characters must decide which tool is going to be necessary at this point.  Once the tool is used it becomes dimmed out and inaccessible again through Tootles.

It struck me how this is vaguely analogous to the Christian life.  God the Father provides us with the ‘tools’ that we need in our Christian life via His Holy Spirit.  These are accessible at all to us only because of Jesus Christ, in whom we have relationship to God the Father as heirs.  We don’t get to choose the tools we are provided in our lives as Christians, but we are assured that as we are gathered into communities of faith (local congregations), the Holy Spirit has provided the necessary tools.  We may need to sort out (through prayer as well as discussion) which tool is most appropriate for a particular need, but all the tools have a valuable place in the community.  

No, it’s not perfect, but it just struck me this morning that there’s a similarity.  We are provided for.  We are cared for.  We are equipped.  And we are to work together to best discern how to make the most sense out of all of this,  to use all of them and honor all of them as much as possible.  Hot diggity-dog!