I recently went to see the new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in theaters (**There will be no spoilers in this article, I promise!). I have become more of a Marvel fan through my boyfriend, Brandon, and I really didn’t realize how attached I would be to the characters and their story, specifically the Guardians.
For those who don’t know, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies come from a comic series that follows a group of individuals with a variety of skills to help defend different planets from being taken over by colonizing villains. What I have noticed with this group in particular that is unique to me in the Marvel Universe is how this random group of very distinct individuals found each other.
Each one is alone, whether because they escaped captivity or slavery, or because everyone around them betrayed them or died. The people who they trusted to be guardians to them, in the end, created more harm, more abuse, and more trauma, and the individuals who make up the Guardians decided it was better off being alone than staying. They decided it was better that they become their own guardians. They decided it was better to become guardians to each other.
Who in our world have had to become their own guardians? What population has had to be their own guardians to each other because the systems that were supposed to protect them failed or betrayed them?
When I think about this week and the topic of “God is Like a Guardian,” I can’t help but think about how the Guardians of the Galaxy became and represented protection, commitment, love, agency, humanity, and celebration to each other through all of their trials.
Isn’t that what God is like?
Meredith Menius
Director of Connecting and Discipleship Ministries