Love and The Hunger Games

Whenever a story of self-sacrifice is told, my ears as a bible teacher perk up. Will this be an illustration or allegory for the story of ultimate self-sacrifice in the gospel?

And so, when I read The Hunger Games, of course I took note of Catniss Everdeen's loving self-sacrifice in volunteering herself instead when her younger sister Prim's name was drawn for that certain death sentence known as The Hunger Games.  How loving of Cat, I thought, to offer her life for a loved one. Just as Jesus did.

But as I have been studying John 3 this week I think there's a better illustration in there. It is not accurate to view Jesus' self-sacrifice as a loving, but really impulsive and arguably reckless response to the plight of a loved one.

Rather, John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that he SENT his Son to die.  In other words, the love came long before the plight. Ephesians 1 puts it even more clearly: He chose us before the world began, and in love he presdestined us...

So perhaps the deeper analogy is not that Cat lovingly gave herself in Prim's place, but that the author "sent" Cat to the Hunger Games, 'knowing' that Prim would be chosen, but also knowing of Cat's character, the obstacles to overcome, and also of the eventual victory for all.

All analogies eventually buckle if pushed too far, but this one has me thinking.