Identity : Toy Story 3

“we discover our identity by being prepared to receive from God, to commit to others and to take responsibility for things. This is in direct opposition to our culture which says that we get a sense of identity from being strong, independent, and free to do whatever we feel like.”
(Paul Maconochie, Facebook status, 22 July 2010)

This afternoon, our family went to see Toy Story 3. It was in effect a parable of the observation my friend Paul had made earlier in the day:
the toys discover their identity in being given purpose (and new purpose) from Andy...
in committing to each other come what may, at times in the face of impossible odds...
and in taking responsibility to do what is right, rather than what is expedient.

In contrast, the villain of the piece attempts to sell them what at first glance appears to be a paradise but is in fact a hellish prison, based precisely on the promise of building a new identity from being strong, independent, and free to do whatever they like...