Stitching The Family

Saturday night, I found myself watching Lilo & Stitch with my nieces. They’re two and four, so naturally, they were “fully invested”in the movie. Well… mostly. Ok, you got me, I’ll admit that at some point, I was more into the movie than they were. 😂

And so there I was, watching Stitch run around causing chaos, trying to avoid the people chasing him, and eventually finding his way into Lilo’s home. Side note, I had no clue they remade the Lilo and Stitch cartoon movie into a human live-action rendition.

Nevertheless, somewhere between the chaos, the humor, and “Ohana means family,” I started thinking: There is actually a lesson in this. Not just about family, but about what happens when we try to survive alone.

When Stitch first encounters Lilo, he’s not looking for community. He’s looking for protection. He’s being hunted, he’s vulnerable, and he’s trying to figure out how to survive. So when he realizes that pretending to be a dog might get him adopted, he sees an opportunity.

Lilo’s family can become his cover. His protection. His way out. His intentions aren’t exactly pure.

But something happens that Stitch wasn’t expecting. He doesn’t just find shelter. He finds family an “ohana” as Lilo called it. And I think there’s something there for us.

Sometimes we come to God primarily because we want to be rescued from something. Rescued from sin. Rescued from our circumstances. Rescued from our consequences. Rescued from loneliness. From Hell. And God absolutely does rescue us.

But He doesn’t just save us from something. He brings us into something. He brings us into His family.

We often talk about our relationship with God in very individual terms. My faith. My relationship with God. My prayer life. My Bible study. My walk with Christ. And those things matter. But the Christian life was never designed to be lived entirely alone. Paul says:

Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.

1 Corinthians 12:27

Notice the language. Body. Members. There is connection built into the design.

God didn’t save a bunch of isolated individuals and tell them to figure out Christianity by themselves. He created a family. Brothers. Sisters. People who pray for one another. People who encourage one another. People who correct one another. People who carry one another when someone doesn’t have the strength to carry themselves. Scripture says

Two are better than one… For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10

That’s not just a nice thought. It’s a picture of God’s design. When you fall, somebody should be close enough to help you get back up. Why?

Because isolation makes us vulnerable! Now, solitude isn’t the same thing as isolation. Jesus withdrew to pray. There are seasons when we need quiet. We need time alone with God. We need space to think, rest, grieve, and hear ourselves again. But solitude is intentional.

Isolation on the other hand convinces you that you don’t need anybody. Speaking from experience, that’s dangerous. Because when nobody knows what you’re struggling with, nobody can pray with you. When nobody has permission to challenge you, you can convince yourself that you’re fine. When nobody is close enough to see you slipping, you can drift for a long time before anyone notices.

Sometimes the enemy doesn’t have to convince us to leave God. He just has to convince us that we don’t need God’s people.

This is one of the things I love about the way God designed His family. God could accomplish His purposes without us.

He technically doesn’t need us, but He has designed His system to use and partner with us. He chooses to work through us. And He often works for us through people for His glory.

Consider how God sometimes answers your prayer through someone else’s obedience. Sometimes He encourages you through someone else’s words. Sometimes He corrects you through someone who loves you enough to tell you the truth. Sometimes He provides through somebody else’s generosity. Sometimes He strengthens you simply by reminding you: “You’re not doing this by yourself.”

And sometimes God wants to do the same thing through you. Someone else’s encouragement may require your mouth. Someone else’s provision may require your generosity.Someone else’s need may require your willingness to show up.

We aren’t just recipients of Christian community. We’re participants in it.

The beautiful part of Lilo & Stitch isn’t simply that Stitch found a place to stay. It’s that he eventually stopped treating the family like a hiding place.

At first, he wanted to use Lilo for his own protection. Eventually, he was willing to sacrifice himself for her. That’s a transformation. And maybe that’s part of what God wants to do in us.

We may come to Him because we need something. We may come because we’re hurting. We’re afraid. We’re lost. We’re tired. We need rescue. And God welcomes us.

But He doesn’t leave us as people who only ask: “What can God do for me?” He begins teaching us to ask: “What does God want to do through me?”

The person who once needed everyone to carry them eventually learns how to carry someone else. The person who needed encouragement learns how to encourage. The person who needed prayer learns how to pray for somebody else. The person who needed community learns how to become community. That’s growth.

I’ll hold your hand when I say this, (as much for my comfort as yours 😅) , we NEED one another. Whether we WANT each other is another thing. 😮‍💨

Remember, God didn’t just save you from sin. He saved you into a family. He gave you people. And He gave you something to give those people.

So find your “people”. And just as importantly, be that person for somebody else. Because the Christian life was never supposed to be:“Me and Jesus against the world.”

Deep revelations for a Disney movie, probably. But think about it. God doesn’t just save us from something. He brings us into something. His kingdom. His family. His people.

Lilo and Stitch put it this way: “Ohana means family, and nobody gets left behind.” God puts it this way:

If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

1 Corinthians 12:26