Won't You Be Mr. Rogers' (Heavenly) Neighbor?

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a terrific movie. But it’s actually not about Mr. Rogers. It’s about us. In the movie, “us” is portrayed in the character of Lloyd Vogel, a reporter based on Tom Junod who interviewed Fred Rogers for a 1998 Esquire story – and found his life was changed by the encounter. Lloyd is just like us in that he is conflicted. He has an idea of what is right and wants to do what is right, but finds his best efforts waylaid by his own inadequacies in dealing with life. The Apostle Paul describes this battle in Romans 7:19 “For the good which I desire, I don't do; but the evil which I don't desire, that I practice.“ (WEB)

Through his encounter with the saintly Mr. Rogers, Lloyd comes to understand that he must settle his past in order to successfully move forward and not repeat the same mistakes. There really are no surprises here. The story follows the template of a Hallmark Christmas movie. After an ugly confrontation with the father who abandoned him, a life changing encounter with Mr. Rogers, a willingness to look at things differently after considering the effects his anger will have on his own infant son, and – above all – making the choice to forgive, Lloyd finds healing and happiness and faces a brighter future. The End.

But Christians know the earthly end is not THE end. There is an eternal future for which we are to spend this life in preparation. As Hebrews 9:27 solemnly warns, “…man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment.” But judgement is not a Mr. Rogers type of topic. The public seems to universally love Mr. Rogers precisely because he doesn’t “judge.” As one of his own often repeated songs says, “I like you just the way you are.” In fact, it’s shocking that such a well-known individual draws such little criticism. It seems as if Mr. Rogers serves as a sort of Christ figure, the “lowly Jesus, meek and mild” version. The version of Jesus everyone likes, Who loves us no matter what, with a love that allows no consequences for our sinful choices and would certainly never allow anyone to go to a horrible place like Hell. That’s exactly why the public crucified the real Christ. Mr. Rogers, on the other hand, provides a kind of “Prosperity Gospel” for kiddies.

However, Mr. Rogers IS a Christ-like figure, just as all followers of Jesus are to be by representing Him on earth. His emphasis on love, and caring, and listening, and understanding, and empathizing are Bible lessons in themselves. Above all, Mr. Rogers’ love of children especially reflects the character of Christ. One famous encounter where Jesus showed His anger is found in Mark 10 when the Disciples tried to keep parents from bringing their children to receive a blessing from Him. Jesus reprimanded His own closest followers with the words: "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Mark 10:14 BSB)

In Matthew 18:6 Christ warned that the strongest of God’s judgements would be against those who harmed “little ones.” “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (NLT)

In His memorable encounter with Nicodemus in John 3:3, Christ compared spiritual conversion to being reborn when He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (NKJV)

Mr. Rogers’ message resonates so well because it is the message of Christ – minus one major component: the need for repentance and Divine forgiveness. Though we give it our best effort, our best is just never good enough - and this is the disillusionment we deal with as adults. A momentous achievement of individual effort can be overturned in one unguarded moment. Even if we could be perfect from this day forward, there is still a past that haunts us and for which we can never fully atone. Despite what Mr. Rogers cheerily declares, we are never good enough “just the way we are,” and deep down inside, we know it.

This is what is so strange about the lesser known fact that Mr. Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister. It makes it seem as if the natural human goodness in Mr. Rogers led him to become a minister, rather than his Christianity and following the example of Christ led him to become a better person. Though we are not questioning his own personal relationship with God, there never seems to be a direct presentation of Christ as the only way to achieve the kind of life which Mr. Rogers promoted. Some may see this as not being “in your face” with his religion, but its more akin to a doctor having the anti-venom (salvation) for a poisonous snakebite (sin), but never administering it, and instead, telling the patient, “You’re fine just the way you are. I believe in you!”

This is not to condemn Mr. Rogers wholesale and discount his wonderful example. The world would obviously be a much MUCH better place if we lived our lives the way Fred Rogers did.

Christians will greatly enjoy A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and rejoice in its redemption story. But that is because Christians recognize the missing element. As I Timothy 3:5 states, Mr. Rogers’ kind of popular teaching “has a form of godliness, but denies (ignores) its power.” The power of godliness was presented to us in the form of Jesus Christ who loved us and gave His life as a sacrifice for our sin, taking upon Himself the punishment we so richly deserved. With His dying breath, He prayed that God would accept His sacrifice and, that by believing in Him, we would be granted forgiveness. The true forgiveness we need to first pursue – and the only way to true joy and eternal life – is through asking for His forgiveness and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. This is a very limited time offer. It is available only in this short lifetime. But if we take advantage of it, we will one day move to a Heavenly Neighborhood for eternity.