My son and I recently went to see the new King Arthur movie. I was pleasantly surprised.
I’m sure all of us are familiar with the legend of King Arthur to some degree. I was vaguely aware of the story of a beloved English King named Arthur who had ruled with amazing grace and strength. His true identity as the chosen king was publicly revealed when he was able to pull the sword from the stone – Excalibur.
I didn’t go into this latest version of this legend with many preconceived ideas because I couldn’t remember previously seeing an epic movie about King Arthur. I did know enough to know that the story had been told in myriad ways in modern history.
I understand that this latest version is told with a very different twist. A twist I found very engaging…
Arthur is portrayed as a young man who is completely unaware of who he is. He is actually the son of the murdered king, and, therefore, the rightful heir to the throne. His father and mother were both killed when he was a toddler by his wicked uncle. He was miraculously whisked away to safety down river in a boat. (Very Moses-esque)
He ends up being taken in and raised by prostitutes in a brothel. By his own confession he is the “bastard child of a prostitute”. That is his identity. That is who he believes he is. Nothing more.
Through a miraculous event, Excalibur is revealed and the legend of a coming King – a new ruler with a Kingdom of freedom – grows and grows. This terrifies the evil King who rules with fear and intimidation. So, he sets out to find out who can pull the sword from the stone and kill the one who is able to claim Excalibur.
To cut a long story short, Arthur is able to pull the sword from the stone and is immediately imprisoned awaiting his execution. He pleads with the evil king that he’s got the wrong man – “I am no King, I don’t want to be king. I am a child of a prostitute. I have no father.”
We are then invited into Arthur’s journey of discovery into who he really is. He has to choose to believe the truth about himself, and the responsibility that comes with that truth. He has to put aside what he has previously believed about himself. It is a journey into apprehending his true identity.
I loved the perspective this film took on this epic tale. A young man who doesn’t understand who he really is gets invited into a story far greater than himself – for the benefit of others. He has a choice: will he hold to the lies he has believed and live a small life, or will he embrace the truth and become who he was created, crafted and called to be?
Do you know why I loved this story so much? Because it’s our story!
We are all ‘King Arthurs’. We are sons of the King – sons of God. We have grown up in a world of lies, sowed by the evil one who is terrified of who we truly are. And the only way we get hold of our true identity is by taking hold of our sword. What Arthur called Excalibur, we call the Bible.
By pulling our Excalibur out of the stone of apathy, complacency, cowardice and unbelief we take up the sword of the Spirit and what we believe about ourselves begins to change. The Truth transforms us when we take hold of it in both hands and own it. We have a choice to believe the lies we have believed about ourselves, or believe the Truth that we are beloved sons of God called to rule in His authority as Kingdom ambassadors.
We have actually been tasked by our King to make His spiritual enemies a footstool for his feet by fighting for the freedom of His Kingdom in the lives of people trapped in darkness.
You are a ‘King Arthur’ called my God to take hold of His sword of Truth and rule in His name for the benefit of others.
“Excalibur” is your sword too! Pick it up and believe the Truth of who you are.
Ephesians 6:7
“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Psalm 110:1-3
“The Lord says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of your enemies!’ Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb.”
2 Corinthians 6:18
“And, ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’”
1 Peter 2:9-10 (The Message)
“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.”