Happy Holy Week, friends, and welcome to another fandoms as Gospel truth post! Today I’m remembering the adorable OTP that I love most of all (ssshhhh, don’t tell Percabeth), Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. I could literally write a novel about how much I love their story and how their love reminds me of God’s love for me. But I promise to try and keep this post to a reasonable length! I’m focusing today on the Hunger Games quote “You could live a hundred lifetimes and never deserve that boy.” Hope you enjoy!
Fandom: “You could live a hundred lifetimes and never deserve him, you know.” – Haymitch to Katniss, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Verses: Isaiah 50, 54:7-10, Ephesians 2:7-9, Jeremiah 31:1-3, Romans 5:6-8
Truth: Even though we don’t deserve it, God showers His love on us constantly. He calls us to stop trying to save ourselves and rely on Him for salvation instead.
The Fandom: “you could live a hundred lifetimes and never deserve that boy.”
I think my favorite part of Katniss and Peeta’s story is Katniss’ journey. She begins the series completely closed off, refusing to allow for the possibility of love, marriage, or a family (and for good reason). When the “star-crossed lovers” routine is forced on her before the first Games, she does only the bare minimum to support it, and views it strictly as a strategy for survival. She is continually thinking about things from a survivalist’s perspective, and takes most of the first two books in the trilogy to begin acting otherwise.
Peeta, though, is characterized as kind and selfless from the beginning. His one act of kindness towards Katniss — that famous loaf of burned bread– sets their relationship off at what she considers an unbalanced state, long before they end up in the Games together. But he never seems to hold this against her. Over and over again, he offers her his support and protection, putting his own life in danger to help her survive, which is the opposite of what anyone expects.
I’d love to hear Peeta’s side of the story and how long he was actually in love with Katniss, but his actions show that he will at the very least do whatever it takes to ensure her survival, even if it means he has to die to do it. This is a completely foreign concept to Katniss, who has made sure that she has very few attachments in District 12 and is used to making her own way in the world. So as she and Peeta begin to interact, first as competitors and then as allies, she goes from outright hostility to tentative trust, and eventually, many years later, to sincere and selfless love.
I’ve often compared Peeta’s kindness and love towards Katniss to God’s love for us. As we’re entering Holy Week and reflecting on the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf, I’m also thinking about our tendency to try and save ourselves, to be self-reliant and self-righteous.
I think Katniss’ discomfort at first around Peeta is largely due to the fact that she feels she has nothing worthwhile to bring to their relationship. The only comparable person she has in her life is Gale, and their relationship, friendship, whatever you want to call it was founded on a trade of skills and resources. I think that we want and hope for our relationship to be the same way, but that’s the thing. We literally have nothing of true value to offer to God. And He offers us literally everything in return. It’s mind-blowing, and a little hard to swallow at times.
Verses
Here are a few verses I’m reflecting on in relation to this topic:
“For a brief moment I abandoned you, But with great compassion I will gather you. In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, But with everlasting favor I will have compassion on you,” Says the LORD your Redeemer. For this is like the days of Noah to Me, When I swore that the waters of Noah Would not flood the earth again; So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you Nor rebuke you. For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My favor will not be removed from you, Nor will My covenant of peace be shaken,” Says the LORD who has compassion on you.
Isaiah 54:7-10
This verse speaks to the steadfast love of the Lord, and how even when we are hostile and rebel against Him, He still offers love and compassion to us. It was originally written to the people of Israel, who constantly see-sawed between trying to follow and obey God and completely running the opposite direction, falling into idolatry and neglect of the God they said they believed in. While God never completely abandoned Israel, He did allow them to suffer the consequences of their actions. Even on their best day, they could never fully satisfy the requirements of the Law that was given to them.
The LORD appeared to him long ago, [saying,] “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you out with kindness.
Jeremiah 31:3
This verse speaks so beautifully of the gentleness and patience of the Lord, which so sweetly reminds me of Peeta. I just love the idea of being “drawn out” with kindness. I’m thinking of the moment on the beach in Catching Fire, when Peeta gives Katniss the pearl and encourages her to live on for the sake of her family, and it’s so sweet and selfless and kind and lovely and aahhakdjkla;jda; *swoons* That’s also the first time that Katniss realizes and willingly admits that she loves and needs Peeta, too. And that’s just a human’s love! Imagine how much deeper our God’s love is for us.
For a more in-depth study of this verse, here’s this post : )
The Lord GOD has opened My ear, And I was not disobedient, Nor did I turn back. I gave My back to those who strike [Me,] And My cheeks to those who pull out My beard; I did not hide My face from insults and spitting. For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have made My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. He who vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other. Who has a case against Me? Let him approach Me. Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; A moth will eat them. Who is among you who fears the LORD, Who obeys the voice of His servant, Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
Isaiah 50:5-10
This passage describes the determination of Jesus the Messiah to obey God the Father our of love and devotion. His obedience calls us to also turn and be obedient.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this [is] not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
This verse reiterates the idea that we need to stop relying on ourselves and our own ability to do “good” things. Instead, we must accept that our salvation is a gift and seek to obey god as an expression of our love and gratitude.
Application: connecting this Hunger Games quote to the Gospel story
The most important part of thinking about all these fandoms from a Biblical perspective is connecting them to the Gospel story. How can we use this “you could live a hundred lifetimes and never deserve him” Hunger Games quote to share the Gospel with our fellow geeks, super-nerds, and fangirls? Let’s start here:
I believe that the Gospel message, or the steps of becoming a believer and receiving the gift of salvation, can be broken up into three parts:
- I am. Who is God? What is He like? Who are we, and why are we here? Is there more to life than just the time between our birth and our death?
- God is the Creator and Lord of everything that we know. He is light, He is absolutely perfect, and He is all-powerful and all-knowing. He is also love, and He created each and every one of us to live in relationship with Him. We, on the other hand, are hard-wired to resist that relationship. Because of the rebellion of the first humans, our nature is to resist God’s rule, and we are therefore separated from Him. This separation is called sin. Our sin causes us to feel a void or emptiness that we try to fill with other relationships or pursuits (like pleasure or success), but that can only truly be filled with the relationship with God that we were meant to have. For more thoughts on this, check out this post.
- With you. How can I “fix” my sin problem and find joy, peace, and a relationship with God?
- There is only one way to restore the relationship that we were always meant to have with the God who created us, and that is Jesus. As we already discussed above, Jesus, the Son of God, came as a human to rescue and restore us while we were weak, helpless to fix ourselves. He showed the love of God for us by subjecting Himself to all of the indignities and suffering of the Cross, and died a criminal’s death, even though He had done no wrong. Because of His perfect sacrifice, Jesus was able to end the eternal separation between us and God, and now gives us the choice to receive His gift of salvation and eternal life. For more thoughts, see this post.
- Always. God shows His faithfulness and steadfast love for His people (originally Israel, now including all who believe in Him) throughout Scripture. He will always be with us, and gives us reminders of His presence and His truth through Holy Spirit, who inhabits every believer. Through Him, we have eternal forgiveness of sin, access to His throne room through prayer, and the ability to grow into the people we were always meant to be, free from the power of sin. After we die, we have the promise of Heaven, where we will see our Lord face to face and never have to suffer or be separated from Him again. For more thoughts, see this post.
This quote from the Hunger Games speaks to the “with you” part of the Gospel story. While we were distrustful and even hostile towards God, seeking to save ourselves by our own righteousness, God sent Jesus His Son to die for us. He made it possible for us to be with Him forever, and he offers this gift of grace and salvation even before we’re ready or willing to accept it. His love and kindness towards us are steadfast, just like Peeta’s towards Katniss, and He is patiently waiting for us to turn to and rely on Him, just as I imagine that Peeta did in all those years after the Games ended.
And that, my friends, is the Gospel according to Peeta Mellark.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve enjoyed and were inspired by today’s Holy Week post with the Hunger Games “hundred lifetimes” quote. If you’d like to know more about receiving salvation in Jesus Christ, or anything else that we talked today, I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to email me at thefangirlfulfilled@gmail.com, or send me a message on Instagram @the.fangirl.fulfilled.
Happy fangirling!
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