Happy Fandom Friday, friends, and welcome to another Gospel According to post, where we connect all the stories and songs we love with the Biblical truth we live by. In celebration of the release of Chalice of the Gods on September 28th, this week we’re revisiting one of the most pivotal moments of the Percy Jackson series: when young Perseus Jackson is officially claimed by his father, Poseidon. Hope you enjoy!
Fandom: “Poseidon. Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Gather of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, son of the Sea God.” – Chiron, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, p. 126
Verses: Genesis 1:27, Isaiah 43:7, Jeremiah 1:5, Galatians 1:15-16,24, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Ephesians 1:13-14, John 15:16, Romans 8:16-17, 28-30, Deuteronomy 7:6-8
Truth: God chooses us and claims us as His own in Christ, not through any merit of ours, but because of His love for us.
the fandom: Percy is claimed by Poseidon
This post is a reminder of the importance of community, as it was suggested by my boyfriend (yes, I have one of those again, squee!) who’s reading the series for the first time. He suggested that the glowing green trident floating over Percy’s head has to be a symbol of the Gospel, and I must agree. Now that I think of it, this is a fantastic opportunity to think about some of the most important Biblical themes.
To start with, I think the shortcomings of the gods in PJO/HoO just highlight the holiness and absolute perfection of the God I serve. They’re mostly just humans, living to serve their own interests, except with some measure of power and perceived authority. There isn’t much reverence involved, just a need to do what they want so they don’t kill you (and some might kill you anyway). And there’s rarely a sense that they care about their kids; they only show up when they need something or when there’s some perceived fault or insult you’ve committed. Even the ones who profess to care about humanity will ultimately admit that, in the grand scale of things, humans might as well be insects to them.
The God of the Bible isn’t like that. Throughout the Hebrew Old Testament and what we now call the New Testament, God shows that He both cares for His creation and is able to provide for and protect and sustain everything in the entire universe. And then He made the ultimate proof of His love and care for us by providing a way for flawed, sinful humanity to have fellowship with His utter holiness.
Find out more about that in this post : ).
So with that being said, knowing what we know about how different our God is, the image of young Percy Jackson with the glowing green trident over his head, proving whose son he is, becomes a reminder of whose we are in Christ. From the people of Israel, chosen to show the rest of the world how to truly live, all the way to centuries of Christ-followers all over the world, we are chosen. Both individually and as part of a people, we are chosen, holy, and dearly loved. Let’s look at some verses that show this to be true!
the verses
So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:27
Every human being, saved or not, Christ-follower or not, is created in the image of God. that means that, in all of God’s infinite personality and creativity and intelligence, He created us to reflect some small part of Himself. Kind of like how kids will sometimes reflect parts of their parents’ personalities and interests. There are also aspects of God, like justice and selflessness and love, that humans also have to some degree. This article has more thoughts on this topic.
So, before you knew God or wanted to imitate Him in any way, He created you in a way that’s meant to point back to Him.
“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His personal possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The LORD did not make you His beloved nor choose you because you were greater in number than any of the peoples, since you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 7:6-8
This passage is part of the final address of Moses, a famous leader and prophet, to the nation of Israel. He reminds them that they are chosen and loved by a faithful and almighty God, but also that their chosen-ness isn’t based on their own merit. It’s all about Him. Their purpose was to show the people around them how to re-connect with the God who created them. Even their imperfection and failure to live up to that purpose paved the way for Jesus, the only one capable of fulfilling it for all of us.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5
This verse was written to a specific person at a specific time, but it speaks to the character of God, which never changes. God chooses individuals and He chooses nations and people groups because He knows each one of us deeply and perfectly.
But when He who had set me apart [even] from my mother’s womb and called [me] through His grace was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles… they were glorifying God because of me.
Galatians 1:15-16, 24
This passage, written by the apostle Paul, was listed as a cross-reference with the one above. Again, it was written by/for a specific person at a specific time, but it doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch to imagine that God chose me too. I know from Psalm 139 that God knows everything about me, and Matthew 28:19-20 has a very clear calling for my life. I believe that God uses each one of us, in the unique gifts and talents that He gave us, to share His message in our own way. For me, that way is this website; what is it for you?
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave [us] the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
These verses just scream trident-floating-over-your-head to me. Holy Spirit, the Helper promised by Jesus before He left the earth, is a sign that we belong to Him. I’ve been a believer on some level for over a decade now, and I still wonder at it, but that doesn’t change how true it is. I am His, and He is mine, always.
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] so that we may also be glorified with [Him.] And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined [to become] conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers [and sisters;] and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Romans 8:16-17, 28-30
The verses before these in Romans 8 (one of my favorite chapters, btw) talk about the Spirit helping us when we pray, speaking with our Father when we don’t have the words to do so fully. You can’t get much more deeply connected than that! And then these verses talk about how God predestined, as in planned ahead of time, for us to be like Jesus. He has called us, made us right with Himself, and is shaping us into the likeness of Jesus, the ultimate human.
“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and [that] your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
John 15:16
Jesus own words, spoken to the original disciples, claim us as His own. There are so many more, especially in the gospel of John, that talk about us as His sheep, His children, His people! John 10 in particular comes to mind. Jesus isn’t shy about calling us His, and He’s already proven how far He’ll go to bring us back to Himself.
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of [God’s own] possession, to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:13-14
I think it’s interesting how the other characters react to Percy’s claiming. Once the shock goes down and the glowing symbol fades away, the other campers shift to jealousy and rivalry, while the more informed, like Annabeth and Chiron, worry for Percy’s future. Percy himself doesn’t really seem to know what to think, and it becomes clear pretty quickly that Poseidon didn’t claim him purely out of fatherly love or pride. He did it because he needs Percy’s help.
The verses above show that, while God does choose us for His own glory, He proves to us first that He is abundantly, supremely worthy. He allows us to choose Him back by believing in “the gospel of your salvation,” as Paul says, and then He seals us with Holy Spirit. He gives us much, much more than we could ever give to Him, and He does it because He loves us. How amazing is that?! How could we not live to serve a God like that!
The Gospel according to Perseus Jackson
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 scene from The Lightning Thief connects most strongly with the “I am” part of the Gospel story. God proves who He is by choosing us. We know that we’re not perfect; anyone who claims otherwise is probably kidding lol. If I really think about it, all the “good” things I’ve done will never compare to a standard of Absolute Perfection, not to mention all the not-so-good things. And yet… God still chooses us? Still chooses me? And promises all the amazing things here on earth and in Heaven that the Scriptures above talk about? That’s crazy, amazing, awe-inspiring stuff, folks. Stuff that’s worth spending some quality time thinking about, especially if you never have before.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s fandom post. Has the mental image of Percy with a floating green trident over his head gained a whole new meaning for you? It certainly has for me!
What’s your favorite Bible verse? I’d love to know!
Happy fangirling!
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