He Lives In You

If you don't absolutely love The Lion King, there's probably something wrong with you. (Fact of life, more or less.) While I've never had the opportunity to see the live show (yet; I hope to do so someday), only God knows how many times I've watched the famous Disney movie. I. Love. The. Lion. King.

Though I cherished the movie my whole life, it wasn't until very recently that I realized it's more than just a "children's movie". There are a lot of profound spiritual elements in the story!

If you do even just a little bit of research, you'll find that The Lion King was most definitely not based off of Christianity or any Christian beliefs; however, God has His ways of sneaking into our creative endeavors, whether we know (or like!) it or not. Just take a look at this classic film masterpiece in greater detail, and you'll see.

I could write several hundred pages on the spiritual significance of The Lion King, and easily so. It's filled with rich spiritual imagery, regardless of your "religion". So instead of boring you with that, I'll just go to one particular facet: the song "He Lives in You". (Yeah, I know it wasn't in the original movie, but bear with me, it's still part of the story and the Broadway musical.)

Take a listen:

The song basically explains itself! Take a look at the lyrics from a Christian's viewpoint.

Ingonyama nengw' enamabala [A lion and a leopard come to this open place] 

Night and the spirit of life calling mamela [listen]

And a voice, just the fear of a child, answers mamela [listen]

Ubu khosi o khokho [This is the throne of our ancestors]

We ndodana ye sizwe sonke [Oh, son of the nation]

Wait, there's no mountain too great

Hear these words and have faith (have faith) 

He lives in you, He lives in me

He watches over everything we see

Into the water, into the truth

In your reflection, he lives in you

He lives in you, he lives in me

He watches over everything we see

Into the the water, into the truth

In your reflection, He lives in you

He lives in you (x5) 

He lives in you! He lives in me!

He watches over everything we see

Into the water, into the truth

In your reflection, he lives in you

He lives in you, he lives in me

He watches over everything we see

Into the water, into the truth

In your reflection, (in my reflection) he lives in you

I mean, really. Come the freak on! With its references to "the Spirit of Life", "There's no mountain too great ... have faith", "He lives in you, He lives in me", "He watches over everything we see", "Into the Water, into the Truth", "In your reflection, He lives in you" ... It's hard to overlook those, isn't it? This stunning Broadway song could easily be used as some form of God glorification. (I say this because it's not quite worship.)

So instead of giving you some overly detailed analysis... I would encourage you to study this song on your own, and use the Bible as a guide to decoding the song. Try finding some Scriptures on the Holy Spirit, particularly where His attributes are shown as light, life, water, and truth. Look for some verses on our bodies being His temple, and on how He lives inside of us. Search for some verses on the omniscience of God (the Psalms might be a good starting place for that). And finally, I would suggest trying to find some Scriptures on being an ambassador, representing God in our lives, etc. Enjoy!