As many of you know, I am a Beauty and the Beast fanatic. It has been my favorite Disney movie since I can remember. So, the recent release of the live action film made my heart beyond happy. Many of you know, I am obsessed. Yes, I have seen the movie three times. Yes, I would go again. No, I don't care about your judgments. After seeing the movie, I was looking for any excuse to go again. So, I turned to my bible study leader, and attempted to convince her to go to the movie. Instead, she did a Beauty and the Beast themed bible study. I saw the movie for the third time after this bible study, and the thoughts that were shared were continually running through my mind throughout the movie. As these thoughts were running through my mind, I came upon new revelations. I would like to share with you the thoughts that were shared with me by my bible study leader, and also, the thoughts that I came upon during the movie.

G.K. Chesterton once said, "There is the great lesson on 'Beauty and the Beast,' that a thing must be loved before it is lovable".

In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast is the unlovable thing that must learn to be loved before it can become lovable. Belle is the thing that enters into the Beast's life and shows him love. It is through learning to be loved that the Beast becomes lovable, but he also learns to love. Belle gives him the opportunity to love and be loved. Similarly, in our own lives, often times, we are the beasts that are the unlovable thing. But, God is Belle, who enters into our hearts and loves us abundantly. He fills our hearts with His love so that we may become lovable, and so that we may learn to love others. It takes time to learn to allow God to love us, but He never stops loving us. So, slowly we learn to love and be loved.

This is what my bible study leader shared with me. What I would like to share next is the thought that came to me while at the movie. First, some back story.

This thought occurred to me during the scene in which Gaston comes to the castle to kill the Beast. The Beast is holding him over a ledge, threatening to drop him to his death. Gaston then begs the Beast to spare him from death. Gaston says, "No! Beast please save me! I'll do anything!" In this moment, the Beast pulls Gaston to his face and shouts, "I am NOT a Beast!" He then spares Gaston's life and allows him to run free.

This can be compared to our own lives in that Gaston is the devil in our lives. The devil is constantly telling us lies that we are unlovable beasts who do not have the hope of being loved by others. But, we have to throw the devil aside and tell him that we are NOT beasts. NOT TODAY SATAN! We are lovable because we are sons and daughters of Christ. We are lovable because we are created by God, and He is continually loving us abundantly.

These are just a few thoughts that I had while watching Beauty and the Beast. Always remember, God loves you abundantly, and through allowing Him to love you, you will learn to love others.