The Hunger Games

We're going to see the movie tonight!! I'm so excited!! I can't remember where I even heard about the books first, but I guess I heard about them a couple of months ago. I didn't know much, but I could kind of guess what they were about so in the beginning I was hesitant. I started reading them about a week and a half ago. I finished the third book Wednesday night/Thursday morning at 2:30am. I was glad to finish so that now I can actually do something besides sit, engrossed in my iphone (reading it off of Kindle) for those few precious moments of absorbing all I could of the books. Oh my goodness they were so good. I really don't know that I've ever read anything that I was so taken in by.

When I first started reading The Hunger Games, I was a little disconcerted. I liked the book and felt like it was very well written, but something about it made me question whether I should like it or not!! I mean, the fact that children are killing children in these games is not usually the Christian topic of choice! I texted my friend Shelby, knowing she had probably read them. She said she had and that she liked them. We discussed a little but not too much. I kept hearing from all these Christians how they just loved the book. So I kept going.

I'm not going to give any sort of book commentary here. I'm not that smart!! But I did get to the point by about the middle of the second book where I realized why it was okay to like these books and why I liked them so much!! They are speaking directly to us--to our nation--about what the future might hold for those who will inherit our war hungry, blood thirsty culture along with our big government who has too much power over it's citizens. This book is written basically for teenagers--for those kids who don't really remember a time when America wasn't at war. They've grown up on violent video games for their entertainment and with the assumption that we just blindly follow what the government tells us to do.

Those of us who do question our leadership and the power they have over us find a hero in Katniss Everdeen. She thinks what we think. She says what we want to say. And she does what we wish we could do. She looks at the powers that be, and sees that they are not to be questioned. She questions anyway. Somewhere down in her 16 year old self she knows that this system is bigger and much more powerful than she is, but she doesn't care. She is willing to sacrifice it all to give others a hope for change. And she's not perfect at it. This makes us like her all the more!! She's us!! She's sometimes selfish. She sometimes has the wrong motive. She is sometimes driven by hate and revenge. She is always questioning whether she can do it, why she's doing it and if it's worth it. But when faced with adversity, when faced with the power of the capital, when faced with insurmountable odds, she doesn't give in. She finds the courage to keep going through physical and emotional pain and torment. She is propelled forward by her love for her family and very few close friends. And she is driven by an underlying desire to see her world changed--for the betterment of all society. She is our hero!

But if the world was only made of Katnisses, we would be in big trouble!! She acts first, thinks later. She has no ability to compromise or sometimes see a bigger picture. This is why we love her, but it's also why we need Peeta!! He is that peacemaker that we are looking for. He sees the goodness down deep. He sees through the imperfections of our heroine and loves her with a love from the depths of his soul--a love that draws us to him and captures our entire being. Only he can calm her. Only he can make her see things. Sometimes even he can't do it, but we love him for trying! He shows us that through all of the warring, all of the chaos, all of the power, all of the evil, there is a way to triumph. He is willing to sacrifice it all for Katniss. She is his ultimate goal. He sees that she is the fighter. She is the answer to bring down the government, and he will do whatever it takes to get her to that spot. And that makes him our hero as well.

These are not Christian books. They never claim to be, but we see the gospel in so many places. I think the reason we see it is because through common grace, God has shown us all what true peace should be. He gives us all a glimpse of what true goodness is. We see self sacrifice and the desire for freedom. It keeps us all riveted up to the final pages.

I read the movie review on pluggedinonline.com. It's from Focus on the Family. It said that the movie follows the book almost page by page so I'm thrilled to go see it tonight!! I have a feeling that when it's over, just like the books, I'm going to be completely spent and left waiting for the sequel with great anticipation!