Kungfu Panda 2

Moving on to Kungfu Panda 2, the story opened with the background of Lord Shen (peacock) and Po, the Kungfu Panda's past. Actually did you wonder why there were no other pandas featured in the first movie? I did and I think that's what makes Po so special. In the sequel, a certain soothsayer had foretold that a panda will rise up to destroy the evil Lord Shen. Hence what this Lord Shen did was to exterminate all the pandas so that this prophecy would not come true. It was out of desperation that Po's mother left him in a basket of turnips so that Po could live. We could see that even from his birth, Po was destined to defeat the evil Lord Shen. We are like Po, whom God had set us apart even before we were born. We have a divine destiny and the bloodline of a champion.

However, this truth was not revealed to Po and it bothered him a lot, so much so that it affected his ability to fulfill his destiny. He had glimpses of the past and they were like nightmares to him. He kept thinking that his natural parents abandoned him because they didn't love him. And that thought kept him in bondage. When he finally confronted Lord Shen, the evil peacock told him that his parents left him because they hated him. It caused him to be defeated by the cannon balls. But this did not kill him. He was saved by the soothsayer who then told him the truth that his parents love him but they had to leave him so that he could survive. Po was shaken by his tragic past but the soothsayer told him that he cannot choose his past but he can choose his future. Po had to let his past go and move forward in his destiny. And of course in the end, Po defeated Lord Shen.

In the same way, we may not have a glorious past but our future is not determined by our past. Understand that throughout life, we will always have forces opposing us, trying to keep us from becoming all that God created us to be. And many times, the adversities, the unfair situations are the results of the devil's efforts, trying to discourage us and deceive us into giving up our dreams. There will come a point when God will tell you that you have dwelt long enough on that mountain and you need to move on. In Isaiah 43:18-19, God says 'Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it springs forth: shall you not know it?' Decide to leave the past and keep moving forward, with a hope that God is doing something new in your life.

There was another instant when Po and the Furious Five were running away from the cross fire at the burning pagoda, tigress said something that was of significance to me. They were trying to escape from the bottom of the pagoda but the archers were aiming their bows at them. They seemed to be trapped. Then tigress said 'Hurry up, let's go up. The only way out is up.' For me, I had heard God telling me this before. When I was distracted and pressured by the attacks and the trials, I cried out to God for mercy. God told me in similar terms that the only way out is up. He meant that I needed to look up to Jesus, to look to the finished work on the cross and He will cause my spirit to soar above all these distractions and entanglements. When you find yourself in similar situations, remember your answer is to look up to Jesus.

Kungfu Panda is truly a fantastic movie and it spurs me on to move towards the divine destiny God had prepared for me. What about you?