You've Got a Friend in Our Class

Welcome to our Disney-themed classroom. You know, animated characters often have rich lessons to teach us. Though it may not be the express intention of the writers and animators, the lessons we learn in animated children's stories often remind us of Biblical truths. 

Take Toy Story 4. Forky is the new character in the fourth Toy Story movie. A little girl named Bonnie created Forky out of a spork, some play doh, googly eyes, and a few other craft supplies. Forky's famous quote is, "I am not a toy. I'm a spork. I'm made for soup, salad, maybe chili, and then the trash. I'm litter. Freedom."

Forky needs to learn to stop jumping in the trash can and to stop running away from Bonnie. He needs to learn that he's valuable to Bonnie because she created him. She loves him. 

One of the first lessons our students will learn during our Bible time is that each human being is created by God, and so each one of us is loved by him and is valuable to him. We are each created in God's image, and so each person is important and worthy of respect. 

So God created mankind in his own image,

    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.   Genesis 1:27 NIV

Another recurring theme in Toy Story is friendship. Woody, Buzz, and the gang go out of their way to rescue Forky and return him to Bonnie. I hope the students will soon discover that our classroom is a place to meet new friends and a place to learn what it means to be a friend.

Which reminds me of another Bible verse: "A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17

So welcome to T1. You've got a friend in our class.