Chaos Meeting

I love working with junior high kids. Tonight's Chaos meeting was especially amazing. We were talking about power and love and how they go together. We started off by looking at Superman's powers, arch-enemies and then looked at Jesus' power. We dug deeper and looked at how power can do everything but force someone to love you. In our small groups we talked about the story of The King and the Maiden by Søren Kierkegaard:

Suppose there was a king who loved a humble maiden. The king was like no other king. Every statesman trembled before his power. No one dared breathe a word against him, for he had strength to crush all opponents. And yet, this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden. How could he declare his love for her? If he brought her to the palace and crowned her head with jewels and clothed her body in royal robes, she would surely not resist -- no one dared resist him. But would she love him?

She would say she loved him, of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with him in fear, nursing a private grief for the life she had left behind? Would she be happy at this side? How could he know? If he rode to her forest cottage in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that too would overwhelm her. He did not want a cringing subject. He wanted a lover, an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king and she a humble maiden and to let shared love cross the gulf between them. For it is only in love that an unequal can be made equal.

The amazing thing is that THE KIDS GOT IT. Now if the girls got it, you could probably understand that. Junior High girls are a little more mature than guys and sometimes connect the dots a little easier. I had a small group of nine junior high boys - grades 6th - 8th grade, and THEY GOT IT. At the end of the group, they guys were explaining to me how God created us with the ability to choose to love him or reject him, because otherwise it's not love. They explained to me that the one thing you can't do is force someone to love you - no matter what your super-powers are. Amazing! They got it, and they understand a Danish Philosopher's story to get them there...and maybe some of the Superman stuff helped.

I love working with junior high kids. They're my people and it's worth it for moments like this.