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Welcome to Part 2! To start off, let’s look at the castle members. They were awaiting the spell to one day be broken. So when a girl suddenly appears in the castle, the very sight of her awakens their hope. (And especially after she begins to live with them.) Similarly, the people of Israel were awaiting the Messiah. So after Jesus comes and is living among them, the hope of many gets awakened, (of those who understood and believed that he was the Messiah.) For example: Simeon, from the bible, is described in the book of Luke as a man that was full of the Holy Spirit, and as someone who was awaiting the consolation of Israel (the Messiah.) One day, Mary & Joseph go to the temple & they bring Jesus with them, to offer a sacrifice for purification. On this day, the Holy Spirit inspired Simeon to go to the temple, and revealed to Simeon that Jesus was the Messiah. Then Simeon said: ”Lord,” “now I can die content! For I have seen him as you promised me I would. I have seen the Savior you have given to the world. He is the Light that will shine upon the nations, and he will be the glory of your people Israel.” Luke 2:29-31  Simeon understood salvation had arrived. And for the castle members, it’s similar, seeing Belle, meant seeing hope arrive, so that they could be set free from the spell, and return to their true form.      

Another interesting & significant detail to note between the castle members and Belle is  that their first real interaction is the castle members serving her dinner. They were excited to serve her because serving is linked to their purpose, and until now, there was no one new to serve. We too were created for a relationship with God and to serve him. Even before sin entered the world, God assigned Adam & Eve to work and rule in the garden. Now as redeemed children of God, we have plans that the Lord wants us to carry out with him. And scripture teaches us that we will take up different roles. “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work.” Ephesians 4:11 As the body of Christ, (God’s people,) we are one, and we need one another. Corinthians 12:21, states it this way: “And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.” The film illustrates the importance of these differences very literally. It’s easy to see the value of differences at work when we see one character serving as a teacup, and another as a plate, and another as a kettle, and so forth. 1rst Corinthians 12:17 puts it this way “If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?” But the mission of the different characters is the same: to serve Belle her dinner. Similarly, the mission of the people of God is one: to bring people to know life with God, and build each other up in the faith. Psalms 139 says “we are fearfully and wonderfully made.” We serve an intentional God. He made us for himself, and he will equip us to accomplish the beautiful works he has for us, to his glory. His word in Philippians 4:13 says “we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us.”

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”-Ephesians 2:10

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Sin separates us from God, but through the sacrifice of Jesus dying for our sins, we receive forgiveness for our sins, and reconciliation to God. Through Jesus, we’re set free from sin ruling over us, and become adopted as God’s children. Through Jesus we’re counted as righteous because he was righteous, and become co-heirs with him,  of the Kingdom of God. So this implies even some prepared work that God has for us in heaven. But it starts here. Jesus says “the greatest among will be your servant.” Matthew 23:11 And he says “I am among you as one who serves.” Luke 22:27 We are called to have the same servant heart that Jesus modeled. The more we get to know Jesus, the more excited we get to serve him, and the more we discover that there is nothing more fulfilling than living for him. With Jesus, we store up eternal treasures, meaning that what we do on earth for him has eternal impact. Similarly, the castle members longed to serve Belle, (not as Lord but as a person.) And serving Belle brought back meaning into their lives. There’s a lyric in the song “Be Our Guest” that really resonated with me: “Life is so unnerving for a servant who’s not serving.” Our life apart from serving God and Jesus is the same: unnerving and unfulfilling. The castle members were very joyful to serve Belle, and we should also be joyful to serve Jesus. But it’s even deeper than that. With Jesus, we discover that he IS the source of true joy, true peace, and true life. As God’s creations, we were created for him, so even without knowing it, we long for him. We have a void in our heart that is only filled by knowing him. To know him is to know perfect love. To discover him is to discover why we were created, and by who were created. Knowing him is knowing the sweetest thing in the world, finding him is finding the most precious of all things. Everything that is good comes from him.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from teh Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Jamese 1:17

“I am the truth, the way and the life, no one comes to the Father if not by me.”
John 14:6

As we touched on, believers are called to build each other up in the faith. One of the ways this happens is through discipleship, especially for new believers. When we first see the Beast preparing to dine with Belle, the castle members give him advice on how to behave. They say things like: have good posture, smile, and above all control your temper. It reminds me of patience, (one of the fruits of the spirit,) and the good fruits in general that flow out of genuine relationship with Christ. We are saved by grace, but as it says in James, works should be the evidence of your faith. (James 2:18) It’s not behavior modification, and it doesn’t come from striving. Rather, it’s the transformation of heart and mind that happens when we surrender to Jesus. When we accept his forgiveness and make him Lord of our life, we begin the lifelong process of sanctification. This is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus. Our part is to have a relationship with Jesus, submit & obey him, and then Jesus transforms us. He says “if you love me obey my commands.”John 14:15 The change in our character comes out of the overflow of our relationship with him. When the Beast was striving in the beginning of the film, he didn’t succeed, and quickly lost his temper with Belle. But after he grows in relationship with Belle, he learns to be patient, because of Belle’s influence, & because of his love for her. In the same way, the more we abide (stay connected to Jesus via prayer & scripture,) the more his perfect love works through us, to produce the supernatural change that we could not bring about on our own.

In the beginning, when the Beast lost his temper, it pushed Belle away from wanting to dine with him. We can kind of equate this to how sin separates us from God, because he is a Holy God. When we accept Jesus’s atonement for our sins, we are counted as Holy because he is Holy. When we do fall short and sin, we have forgiveness so long as we genuinely repent before Jesus. Later in the film, when we see Belle have a special dinner with the Beast, we see that the Beast’s character has completely transformed. This came about out of consequence of spending time with Belle, and (as we touched on,) out of his love for her. Similarly, our works flow out of the consequence of genuine relationship with Jesus, and love for him. His power works in us to change our character. He says in John 15 “He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” When we are saved, we get born again in Christ, and are considered spiritually, a new creation, because we are now redeemed from sin, and restored back into relationship with God. In a way, the Beast, like us, also transforms into a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17) First it’s the internal change of his character, and later, it’s the external change from a Beast back into a man.    

“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.” Romans 12:2

The Beast transforms from easily angered to tame. Towards the end of the film, in the  fight between the Beast & Gaston, we catch a glimpse of the Beast almost giving into his old ways, but he stops himself. Giving our life to Jesus doesn’t mean we’ll never sin again, or that we’ll live a life free from temptation. But the more we walk with him the less we’ll desire the things of the world. When we do fall short & sin, he is ready to forgive us when we genuinely repent. And through him, we no longer have to live stuck in sin, and being enslaved to it. If you ever do get stuck in a sin cycle, you can open up to trusted friends, pray for Jesus to set you free, and the Lord will deliver you. John 8:36 says “So if the son has set you free you are free indeed.” And Galatians 5:16 says if we “walk in the Spirit, we will no longer gratify the desires of the flesh.” As we pursue God, and surrender our hearts and minds to him, he transforms us, and aligns our desires with his. We get into alignment with his will, love what he loves, break our hearts for what breaks his, and desire to do what pleases him. As we become more like Jesus we naturally reflect him to the world, and people can come to know him, because of us.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to death.” Revelation 12:11