It was my seventh birthday. I tore open the large present to happily find my very own My Twin Doll laying inside. Thrilled, I picked her up, held her by her hands, and swung her around- right there in the mall food court.

Once I got home, I found a pen in my room and proudly etched my initials on my doll’s foot, following the example of Andy from Toy Story. I wanted everyone to know that this doll was mine. More importantly, I wanted my doll to know she belonged to me- she had a home.

Having grown up watching Toy Story and the other Disney/Pixar films, I would have to say that these movies were very influential on my childhood. (You know, going to aquariums and looking for Nemo and Dory. It is no longer a clown fish in my mind- it is Nemo. My dear friend Nemo.)

Toy Story was always one of my favorites. I loved all of my toys as a kid, and, like most children, I pretended they were real and had lives of their own when I left the room. Toy Story helped solidify this belief.

“Okay, Kara,” you may be thinking. “Why did you decide to write a post about Toy Story?”

Well, as you’ll see, I think there is a very key lesson about our Christian faith we can learn from Toy Story. 

The rest of this post contains many references to Toy Story 2, so if you haven't seen it- 1) Go see it right now, or 2) be prepared for spoilers. Clips have been provided.

Andy wrote his name on the feet of his beloved toys.

The toys could look down and see A-N-D-Y. A reminder that they were loved. That they belonged. That they had a home.

In Toy Story, Andy’s toys had his name etched on them so they could remember whose they were.

If ever they doubted Andy’s love, all they had to do was look at their foot. They would see his name and remember that Andy loved them enough to claim them as his own.

During another scene of Toy Story 2, the thief, Al, hired a toy maker to come clean up Woody so Al could sell him to a museum in Japan. Woody gets a complete make-over. His hair gets touched up, his arm gets sewn back on, and, at the end, the bottom of his boot gets repainted- covering up Andy’s name.

In the next few scenes, Woody forgets who he belongs to. He begins to envision his life at the museum in Japan with the fellow members of “Woody’s Roundup.” When the other toys come to rescue him, he doesn’t want to go home to Andy’s house anymore.

Finally, Woody remembers who he truly is and to whom he belongs. He realizes that even though Andy’s name on his boot is painted over, it never was truly gone.

In this next clip, we see Woody scratching off the paint on his boot and seeing Andy’s name below. .The sight of it helps him decide to return home to Andy’s house.

Andy’s toys had his name etched on them so they could prove whose they were.

A comidic element in Toy Story 2 is the appearance of a second Buzz.

At one point, the Woody-rescue-team goes to a toy store, and Buzz wanders down a isle of other Buzz Lightyears, who were still in their boxes. He makes the mistake of waking one of these Buzz Lightyears up, and the new Buzz Lightyear puts the real Buzz in a box, and then takes his place with the other toys.

The other toys notice Buzz is acting weird, but they don’t know that he isn’t one of Andy’s toys. Later, when the real Buzz catches up with them, the toys are confused as to who the real Buzz was.

As you’ll see in the clip below, the real Buzz was able to prove who he was by showing the other toys Andy’s name on his foot.

Andy’s toys had his name etched on them so they could know they belonged in the family.

At the end of Toy Story 2, Jessie and Bullseye join the family of Andy’s toys. They are thrilled to have a home, a place of belonging.

And, as he did with all his toys, Andy wrote his name on their feet. To see their joy, watch the first part of this clip.

This brings me to my point. And I don’t want you to skim over it, so I’ll announce it in big letters ;)

The Point:

Just like Andy’s toys had his name written on them, as Christians, we have the seal of the Holy Spirit on us.

Boom.

Allow me to elaborate…

When Andy received a new toy, he wrote his name on them as a sign of ownership. The toys received a “seal” of his name, so to speak.

When we surrendered our lives to Christ, the Bible tells us that our hearts were sealed with the Holy Spirit. 

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 1:13

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

We are sealed by God.

He set His Spirit on us as a seal- like those wax seals people used to use with envelopes… think Phantom of the Opera.

There are so many implications to this truth, but I want to point out three that tie in with Toy Story 2.

• We are sealed by His Spirit so we can remember whose we are.
• We are sealed by His Spirit so we can prove whose we are.
• We are sealed by His Spirit so we can know we belong to His family.

Don’t forget to whom you belong. Don’t allow the things you do to try to “paint” over the seal to try to hide whose you are. It won’t work after all. Once God has sealed you, you’re sealed for eternity. We need to save ourselves heartaches by remembering we belong to God.

Don’t forget you have the seal of the Holy Spirit as a “proof of purchase.”
When I was little, my mom used to tell me “Whenever the devil comes knocking at your door, you tell him to go away because Jesus lives here!”
Taking what she said literally, I was confused as to why the devil would knock at the front door of my house. Now I know she meant the door of my heart.

You belong to God. Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy when he whispers in your ear that mayyybee God forgot about you.

God takes care of His own.

Don’t forget you are a part of God’s family.
God adopted you in to His family (see Eph. 1:5). Nothing you do can change that. Like any loving parent, God hates to see us hurt ourselves or make mistakes, but He loves us dispite our sins. He has forgiven us for all our mistakes and wants to help us do better.

We belong to His family for eternity.

Remember whose you are.

When life gets rough you may not be able to look at your foot to know whose you are, but know your heart is sealed by the Holy Spirit to show whose you are.

Posted by Kara Beth & filed under Devotionals. This post has 11 comments.