Happy Friday, friends, and welcome to another fandoms-as-Gospel post! I recently finished reading the brand new Percy Jackson novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods, and it definitely lived up to the hype. Of course the entire time I was reading it, I was also looking for ways to share the Gospel with this beloved storyline, and I found one near the end of the book. I’ll do my very best not to spoil it, but if you haven’t read it yet, you might want to read one of my other Percy Jackson-inspired posts instead. Hope you enjoy!
Fandom: “Today, you created a small wave, and you showed what the ocean is capable of.” – Poseidon, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods, page 253
Verses: 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ephesians 5:1-2, Colossians 3:12-14, 17
Truth: Even the small, often unnoticed things we do for the glory of God are valued and meaningful to Him.
the fandom: The Chalice of the Gods
Again trying not to spoil it, the new Percy Jackson novel is absolutely amazing! I couldn’t recommend it more. It balances the nostalgia of seeing the original Golden Trio on a quest again with fresh, new content. And the number of “Awww, Percy!!” moments… *swoons*
One of the themes of this book is the fact that Percy doesn’t really need to perform the task that he sets out to complete. All he wants to do is go to college with Annabeth, and while he will do anything to make that happen, the world isn’t in danger this time. He isn’t the subject of (another) doomsday prophecy, and there aren’t any truly serious consequences that will result if he doesn’t Do The Thing. This sets this novel apart from the other Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus books, and it’s kind of a neat thing.
Because, as the story progresses, Percy discovers that, although he doesn’t need to Do The Thing, he actually kind of… wants to? He displays a uniquely human sense of empathy for the person he’s set out to help, and ends up with a sort of begrudging satisfaction when the quest is completed, even though he’s never recognized for it.
And that’s when this quote from Poseidon happens. Although Percy, Grover, and Annabeth aren’t crowned with golden laurels and celebrated by all of Mount Olympus, Percy’s father does, in fact, notice what he did for… the person he helped (this not spoiling thing is hard XD). And he tells Percy that, although he didn’t save the world from impending doom, his heroic deeds did make a difference.
Want some more thoughts about how our actions can make a difference in the world? You’ll 🏄♀️these posts!
- The Hunger Games: No one can help but admire your spirit.
- Coldplay + Big Sean: “Miracles (Someone Special)”
- The Lorax – Unless
the verses: reflecting the image of God
The first thing I thought of when I read this quote from Poseidon was this verse:
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all things for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 NASB
In context, Paul wrote this verse to the church at Corinth, which was actually in the Roman empire at the time. It’s addressed to believers who were struggling with whether to eat food that had been sacrificed to idols. Paul instructs these believers to do everything for the glory of God and for the good of those around them, specifically the unbelievers who would benefit from them not participating in a ritual that was widely accepted at the time.
For us today, this verse speaks to the fact that we are to do everything with God’s honor and glory in mind. As His representatives on earth, what do our actions say about who He is? What do the unbelievers around us read from our day-by-day, minute-by-minute testimony?
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
Ephesians 5:1-2 NASB
I love the imagery of this verse pointing to us imitating God like a child imitates their parent. It matches up almost perfectly with Poseidon’s idea of comparing himself to the ocean and Percy to a wave: “You created a small wave, and you showed what the ocean is capable of.” In the same way, God, the Creator of not only the ocean but the entire universe, trusts and charges us to reflect a little of His nature and character in everything we do. Not only the big, world-changing, mighty waves, but the ordinary, everyday, lapping-against-the-shore things that we do as His children. So cool!
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, [and] patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so [must] you [do] also. In addition to all these things [put on] love, which is the perfect bond of unity… Whatever you do in word or deed, [do] everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Colossians 3:12-14, 17 NASB
One of the other themes of the Percy Jackson series is the fact that the Olympians can’t or won’t be involved in the lives of their children. Most of the time, if one of them contacts his or her child, it’s only because they need something from them. I talked about this some in this post.
For this reason, although Poseidon is able to watch Percy from afar, Percy doesn’t really know much about his father, and he doesn’t particularly appreciate what he does know. To him, Poseidon is a super-rich-and-powerful absentee father who occasionally drops in and never really seems to care about him.
But that’s actually one of the things that I love about the way that the Olympians are characterized in this series: these so-called gods highlight the utter holiness and goodness and other-ness of the One True God. This God makes Himself known to us, is involved in every part of our lives, and gives us a way to follow and become like Him in big ways and small ones.
That’s what this passage is saying: because we are chosen, loved and redeemed by God, we can and will reflect His character through the work that He does in us each and every day.
the Gospel according to Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods
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.
I believe that this quote from The Chalice of the Gods is best aligned with the “I am” part of the Gospel story. God spent the entire Bible showing us who He is and what He does for us each and every day. He showed up in the most incredible way by giving His Son for us. And now, He invites us to reflect a little of who He is in everything that we are, every day, for the rest of our lives on earth. And we do this not because He needs us to or because we have to earn our way into His good graces, but because we’re already chosen, holy, and beloved. We do it because He is worthy.
my journal pages
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post about The Chalice of the Gods and how it shows us to live every moment of our lives for the glory of God. Have you read the new Percy Jackson novel yet?! What did you think??
Happy fangirling!
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