“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2

In the film “Tangled” we see the story of a girl named Rapunzel who eventually discovers her identity as the lost princess. This journey begins with her escaping her tower to see the lanterns that she’s longed to see her whole life. This Disney film is based off of the fairytale story of Rapunzel, where a Princess is kidnapped as a baby by a witch, and who is one day saved by a Prince. If you follow along in the film, there are a lot of parallels you can draw between how Rapunzel discovers the truth of her identity, and how we can discover the truth about our identity in Christ. So for the first article I will dive into these parallels between how Rapunzel untangles herself from the lies she was raised to believe, and how you can untangle yourself from believing the enemy’s lies. Once you are grounded in God’s truth, you can step into the promises that you were always
meant to live out with him.                                     
                     

In the Film, Gothel’s (the witch,) lies are focused on three areas: Rapunzel’s identity, Gothel’s identity, and what the world is like. The first point of attack is Rapunzel’s identity. Gothel doesn’t tell her that she’s the daughter of the King & Queen, but instead raises her as her own daughter. In addition to this lie, throughout the film Gothel is always sowing negative words onto Rapunzel with regards to what she’s capable of. The devil also wants to keep us away from realizing our identity as daughters and sons of King Jesus (the son of God,) and through Jesus, as adopted children of God. The bible says “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (Proverbs 18:21) And it also says in Proverbs 23:7 that “as a man believes himself in his heart to be, so he is.” So we need to be careful with what is spoken over us, and always go back to scripture to claim who we are in Christ: redeemed, chosen, children of God. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made” as it states in Psalms 139:14. We were created by the Lord and for a relationship with the Lord. He knows us intimately. Psalms 139:16 says “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” And he wants us to know him intimately. See John 15 to see how Jesus explains that we are called to stay connected in relationship with God.                   

Two lies that are central to keeping Rapunzel in the tower are : who she believes Gothel to be, and what she believes about the world. Because Rapunzel thinks Gothel is her mother, it keeps her from suspecting that Gothel is using her and that Gothel is lying to her about the world. These two lies function as mental strongholds (similar to spiritual strongholds,) that keep Rapunzel in the tower even while Gothel is away. Spiritual strongholds are sins that have a grip on our life. Sin separates us from God. It is only through Jesus that we have forgiveness for our sins and redemption. While we are lost in our sin, living in iniquity, we are blind to the devil’s schemes. We may be acting as children of Satan, but once we become knowledgeable of who God is, and how he saved us through Jesus, then we can see the truth about sin, repent, accept and follow Jesus, be empowered to leave our sin, and become children of God. It says in John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”As children of God we have authority to break free from any and every lie and stronghold, that the devil was using to enslave us and destroy us. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” The devil’s intentions are clear. He wants to use sin to separate us from God the Father. (Just like Gothel uses the tower and lies to separate Rapunzel from the world, and from her true parents.) In John 10:10 Jesus says “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus came to save us so we can enter into full life with God. In Luke 4:18 Jesus says “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” He’s like our Prince.
               

Gothel made Rapunzel believe that the world is cruel, and that everyone out there would just use Rapunzel for her powers. But in actuality Gothel is the cruel one using Rapunzel for her powers. Similarly the devil lies about God’s character, wants to use our talents, and is the one with the bad intentions. Rapunzel was a prisoner in a tower and didn’t fully realize it. And similarly sin can function as a stronghold that enslaves people without them realizing it. Just like Gothel, the devil tries to make sin (evil) look good, and good look evil. Just like in the garden of Eden where the devil sowed doubt over God’s goodness, and tricked Eve into sinning & tasting the fruit that would lead to her spiritual death. If we stay in our sin, and don’t have Jesus, not only are we not saved, but we can’t experience a full life/relationship with God. God’s heart is that he wants us to repent so we can be reconciled back into relationship with him. 2 Peter 3:9 says “The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” Similarly, so long as Rapunzel is in the tower she can never have fullness of life, and relationship with her real parents. Not because her parents don’t want her, but because she cannot live forever in the tower, if she ever means to ever have a relationship with them. But how can she have a relationship with people she doesn’t even know about? Romans 10:14 says “How can they call on someone they have not believed? And how can they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher?” God sent Jesus to live a perfect life, die for our sins, rise for us, so that through him our sins are atoned for. We need only to accept him, repent from sin, and live for him by following what he left for us in scripture, and by engaging in relationship with him via prayer/scripture. As we do that, by faith, we begin to experience abundant life with God. Rapunzel stays in the tower for so long because she believes she needs it to keep herself safe. Similarly the devil has many people believing that they need their sin but it’s slavery in disguise. Even Rapunzel’s mood swings after initially leaving the tower illustrate the mental difficulty that it can feel like to leave your stronghold. It was only when someone from the outside came, that Rapunzel was able to take that step in leaving to begin with.                              

Despite Gothel’s lies & living in the tower her whole life, Rapunzel is keenly aware that she isn’t living a full life, as we see when she sings “When Will My Life Begin.” Similarly, long before people realize that it is Jesus that they are longing for, they realize there’s a void in their heart they just can’t fill. The only thing that can fill up this void is the love of Jesus. Hebrews 10:16 says “I will put my law on their hearts and inscribe it on their minds.” So the Lord has left revelation of who he is, and if we seek him with all our hearts we will find him as it says in Jeremiah 29:13. Jesus even promises “I will draw all men to myself,” in John 12:32, and that he is the way, the truth, and the life in John 14:6. While Rapunzel is in the tower she can only do so much, and so in a way she’s dead. In Proverbs 9 when the fool calls the simple in, she invites them to the “appearance of life” but in the end it leads to people’s death. But when wisdom calls the simple, she calls them to real life. When people go to sin they may not readily see that it leads to death but Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death.” Even though Rapunzel is technically alive in the tower, she doesn’t have freedom to leave, and thus doesn’t have real life. Even though people who don’t know Jesus are physically alive, without a relationship with God, they’re spiritually dead. Your spiritual life begins when you accept Jesus into your heart, & begin living for him, & experiencing life through him & with him. It’s a life that begins here, and continues in heaven. We get to have a relationship with the creator, just as he intended when he created mankind.
             

Even though Rapunzel was raised in the tower, that’s not her origin. Her origin is the palace. Our origin is the Kingdom of God. 1rst Peter 2:9 says “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” We are raised in a broken world, and some sins may seem normalized to us because of culture. But the Holy Spirit and the truth in the scripture, helps us discern what is and isn’t sin, and see what God says about sin. God is entirely good, so what he calls evil is evil and what he calls good is good. He’s the one that helps us understand what sin is, and transforms us from the inside out, so that through Jesus we have authority & power to no longer be ruled by sin. Romans 12:2 says “do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you will be able to test and approve God’s good, pleasing and perfect will.” If we surrender to him, and decide to live for him, he will set us free and do the heart change. It says in John 8:36 “So if the son sets you free you are free indeed.” We need contact with him who is life itself, who is truth himself, and he is the one that has the power to set us free. Sometimes the first step towards freedom and finding God is contact with another believer who already has a relationship with God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit. In the film Rapunzel only steps out of the tower when the Prince runs into her. She only knows the way to the lanterns, because the Prince knows the way and guides her. Believers who already know Jesus can help introduce him to those who don’t know him. For he is the way to God, and he is the way to life. In John 14:6 he says “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And in John 14:9 he says that “whoever has seen him has seen the Father.”

If we are genuinely looking for the truth we will find him. He says in John 18:37 “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” We can find the truth by talking to him in prayer, studying his word in the bible, and through spending time with other believers who also hear from him. Romans 10:17 says “Faith comes from hearing and hearing the word of God.” In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” If we choose to believe in what Jesus has done for us, and decide to live for him, then we can begin to live freely, in the most fulfilling relationship with the creator who longs to do life with us, and who has great plans for us.