After Elsa harms her sister she locks herself in her room out of fear of hurting someone. She lives by the mantra, “Conceal don’t feel; don’t let them know.”
Why do you think she did that?
She wants to hide her powers and try to conquer her lack of self-control by herself.
Did Elsa’s approach work?
No. Her attempt to bottle up her fears and powers leads to an eruption at the party.
After Elsa loses control at the party she decides to take another approach: let it go. She decides she is going to embrace her powers and not care anymore.
Does Elsa’s new approach work out well?
No. Ultimately she is still locked up by herself, just this time she is in an ice palace. She’s just as lonely and isolated. She also hurts many other people by letting her powers rage. The whole village is frozen over.
What should we do if we are ashamed or fearful about something?
In contrast to Elsa bottling up her fears we are told in Scripture that “if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). We don’t have to keep our mistakes and sins to ourselves all bottled up. We can take it to God in prayer and know that he will forgive us and help us.
God also gives us other Christians to help us fight sin. James tells us to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16). Paul tells Christians in the Galatian church to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2). Our fellow Christians in church grow us in godliness and remind us of God’s love in the gospel (Prov. 27:17; Ecc. 4:9-10; Heb. 10:24-25).
What about Elsa’s other approach? Scripture tells us we should always obey God’s Word no matter what we feel. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.” God is always good and his Word is always pure (Ps. 19:7-11) even when we aren’t. We must trust God and that he knows best.
Was it wise for Anna to so quickly trust Prince Hanz?
No. Anna is betrayed because she somewhat foolishly gives her heart to the prince so quickly. We should ask our family and other believers about big decisions, especially someone we are interested in marrying (Prov 14:21).
Anna thrusts herself in front of the sword to save Elsa’s life and this loving act awakens melts Elsa’s heart and allows her to love.
How does Jesus truly allow our hearts to love?
Christ took our place. He died for our sins. When we trust in him our sins are forgiven and his love for us melts our heart of stone and he replaces it with a heart of flesh (Ezk 36:26). As a result we desire to love and serve him by obeying him. Paul says it this way, “For the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this, that one has died for all and therefore, all have died that whoever lives no longer lives for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Cor. 5:14).
Mike McGregor
Mike McGregor (MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary) is Director of College Ministry at First Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter at @m5mcgregor.
