All in good time Sam

 

Imagine a world where a very few get very rich and live long happy lives with everything their hearts desire while most people struggle to live day to day and are exploited by the rich who don’t care if they live or die. That’s the world of the movie In Time but it’s not really that hard to imagine is it? Really it just sounds a lot like our world. 

It seems things will stay that way forever until a hero comes along… with the strength to carry on… and that hero is Will Salas. After a stranger gives him wealth beyond his wildest dreams Will decides that he is going to change the world because he’s sick of watching his friends and family die too young. For the rest of the movie he spends his time doing that and to a certain extent he succeeds. He tries to make the lives of the poor longer and more prosperous by being a Robin Hood of sorts; stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor leaving himself just enough to do it again tomorrow. 

We all root for him and forgive him for his stealing because deep inside we all want justice; we realize that exploiting people for your own gains is wrong. But something troubled me about Will Salas and his need to save the world. It wasn’t until one of the most powerful people in the world said to Will “You might upset the balance for a generation, two, but don't fool yourself. In the end nothing will change, because everyone wants to live forever. They all think they have a chance at immortality, even though all the evidence is against it.” That’s it! That’s the problem! We all want a hero to set us free from oppression but this freedom will only ever be temporary because what’s wrong with the world is not what’s outside of us, but what’s inside us; our heart. 

If we are given something, some wealth in this world, we only need to look around to see that most of us would not become like Will Salas. We would either become like Will’s friend who frittered his wealth away quickly and died as a result or we would use our wealth to exploit or ignore the poor and climb the ladder to riches. 

 But even those of us who are happy with our comfortable lives still have problems, and we yearn for a saviour to set us free from the troubles of this life, just like the people in the time of Jesus. Jesus announced to the people that He was the saving King they were waiting for and automatically they thought “oh you’ve come to set us free from the Romans who are oppressing us and keeping us poor and downtrodden. That’s the kind of saviour we want! All hail Jesus! Life is going to turn out OK after all.” But Jesus did not come to earth to be that kind of saviour. Instead Jesus tells the people a story about a rich man who stores up wealth for himself and thinks “great! Now that I have enough wealth I can relax and do this, that and the other thing.” But God says to him “You fool! Tonight your life will be required of you.” And that’s the problem with saviours like Will Salas; they do their thing and life is good (for a while), but there remains an enemy waiting patiently for everyone which neither Will Salas or you or I can do anything about; death. 

What we need, but don’t want, is a saviour who will not necessarily rescue us from oppression and suffering in this life but who will save us from ultimate suffering – death and God’s judgment. Only Jesus, the suffering servant King who purchased our eternal life by giving up His life, is that kind of saviour.

some of the best shirt under sweater action you'll ever see

Who wants to die right? Not me. What makes death bearable for a lot of us is that we don’t have to think about it most of the time. It always seems so much further off than things that are happening day to day and we can put off thinking about it. I’ve often wondered if people who are closer to death, like people in their 70 and 80s, do mental calculations about the short amount of time they have left and if it frightens them. I wonder if it will frighten me when I reach there (if I reach there). 

Harold Crick is a man who’s like most of us, just going through life and not really thinking about death, until one day his life is invaded by a voice from the heavens that begins narrating his life. The voice is scarily accurate and he wonders what is going on. One day his watch stops at the bus stop. He resets it to the time on one of his fellow commuter’s watches and the voice says “Little did he know that this simple seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death.” Harold yells “What? What? Hey! HELLOOO! What? Why? Why MY death? HELLO? Excuse me? WHEN?” 

This scene sets off a chain of events where in absolute panic he tries to find a way out of his fate. Harold is thinking “I’m not ready! I haven’t thought about it, I’m not prepared! I’ve got the rest of my life to live” even though his life had actually been pretty rubbish up to that point. 

To not fear death like Harold does, seems stranger than fiction. But this is the very gift that Christians have; of being able to look toward death with hope. 

Hope in death?  Yes, the hope that death is not the end, but only the beginning of something much better than what this life has. In this life we struggle with sin; sin that others do to us, sin that we do to others, sin that happens on the news and sin that torments us inside. Life is a battle that is hard and full of temptations, heartache and then you die.  The hope the Christian has in death is that we will not be forgotten after we are eaten by worms, but that we will be raised again and made into something new.  New life in a resurrected body that will not sin or ache or break down but will go on forever in a place that will have no more pain, sorrow or death and we will be with our great saviour forever! 

The more Harold Crick investigated his death and what it would mean, the more he came to terms with it, and when it was time, he was ready. (spoiler alert!!) At the end of the movie, the author of the book about Harold’s death explained why she changed the ending; “Because it's a book about a man who doesn't know he's about to die. And then dies. But if a man does know he's about to die and dies anyway. Dies- dies willingly, knowing that he could stop it, then- I mean, isn't that the type of man who you want to keep alive?” There is something noble and beautiful about someone who gives up their life for sake of others. Watching Harold willingly go to his death just for the sake of a good story brought a tear to my eye.  

And then I thought of Jesus. 

He was not corrupted by sin as we are; he did not have to die. He could have lived forever on earth making our lives better by constantly doing miracles and helping others but ultimately it would do us no good, we would still die in our sin and receive God’s just judgment. Jesus willingly went to his death to give us so much more than a good story - forgiveness for our sins and life with him after death. Three days later He rose again and waits to receive us into his eternal kingdom when our heart gives out or we are hit by a bus. 

 - best romantic pun of all time in this movie too.

The person you need is...

Have you and your family seen “Nanny McPhee”? Well if you haven’t then shame on you ;)

(**Spoiler Alert**) 

Mr. Brown’s children are monsters and have driven away over 15 nannies. He is at his wit’s end until he is visited by a mysterious stranger who calls herself Nanny McPhee. There’s a scene in the kitchen that’s a vivid illustration of Romans 1. The children have tied up the cook and are up to all sorts of disgraceful behavior when in walks Nanny McPhee. With a thump of her magical cane the children are unable to stop what they were doing. Their naughtiness escalates until they are about to do something that even they realize is horrific. She has given them over to do whatever their shameful heart’s desire and they must live with the consequences. 

As time goes on and Nanny McPhee shows her care for the children their perception of her changes. What at first they thought was an ugly, old, unwanted spoil sport slowly becomes an attractive, loved lady. 

When I didn’t know much about God I struggled with an “ugly” perception of His character. He seemed judgmental and unreasonable. How could it be fair that He chooses some for salvation and not others? That didn’t seem right. I didn’t like him very much at all. But as I saw the great love this “unlovable” God showed me by dying for me despite my rebellion against him He became more attractive to me. Now I see that He has given me the Bible and good teachers who teach me about Him and the better I know Him, the more I love Him. 

Unlike Nanny McPhee who had to leave when the children no longer needed her, Jesus has promised that He will never leave me, nor forsake me and I’m thankful for that because I know there’ll never be a time when I no longer need Him.

I want you to friend me. NO! I demand it!

We finally got around to seeing The Social Network. It’s the 40 percent true story of the beginnings of facebook.com and a fascinating study of human nature; in particular our overdeveloped sense of entitlement.

**Spoiler Alert**

The movie reveals the plot by flicking between past events and the inevitable court case. Basically the Winklevoss brothers sue Mark Zuckerberg for stealing their social networking website idea. It appears Mark Z started his own social networking website whilst employed to create one for the Winklevosses. Mark Z claims his “The Facebook” bears little resemblance to the idea the Winklevosses had pitched to him, but they try to sue him anyway. 

All of us have a sense of entitlement; that is, what we think the world owes us. It’s easy to deny it until someone uses your idea first then makes a shed-load of money out of it. Thanks to the legal system, you can try to get what you think you deserve even though you did no work to earn it. As the US Circuit Court of Appeals said when the Winklevosses’ appeal failed this year "The Winklevosses are not the first parties bested by a competitor who then seek to gain through litigation what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace” 

Human entitlement rears its ugly head with regards to God also. When we get sick, lose a job, lose a family member, become victims of a natural disaster etc, our first reaction is to cry out “Why me God? I don’t deserve this! Why do bad things happen to good people? How could you allow this to happen to me God?” We believe we are good and so God owes us only good things. In reality we are not good and God owes us nothing (just ask Job). Shocking I know! 

We live at God’s mercy. Every breath we take is because He allows it. Every good thing God has given us is because He is gracious, merciful, kind and patient. His goodness towards ungrateful human beings is shown to us in His Son Jesus Christ. Imagine if Mark Z gave Facebook to the Winklvosses (valued in 2010 at $41 billion). He would be broke, and they would be richer than you or I can ever imagine. So much more than this, Jesus Christ gave up everything He was entitled to (His place in heaven where He owned the whole world), to come and be born beside an animal feeding trough, to suffer and be killed at the hands of His own creation, so that He could give us something we don’t deserve – forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him.

Why is scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz a zombie?

Answer: Because he’s looking for a braaaiiiinnn.

Zombies are so hot right now. Apparently the zombie apocalypse is upon us… I haven’t seen any zombie flicks myself because I’m a big chicken. I’ve been told Shaun of the Dead is hilarious and I kind of want to see that one, but its probably not going to happen. For now I’ll just stick to the zombies that Paul talks about in the Bible. What? You didn’t know? Check this out:

Paul tells us in Romans 7 that a Christian’s old nature is dead, but the weird thing is even though our old nature is dead; it keeps bothering us. Paul says “I have discovered this principle — that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this body of death?” Sounds like a zombie right? - A creature that’s dead but keeps coming back to life to bother us (and eat our brains).

In your typical zombie movie the hero generally carries a shotgun and often resorts to a baseball bat, axe, or other type of blunt instrument to defeat the hordes of the undead. (Well at least that’s what it looks like in the trailers).  Does Paul offer us a weapon to defeat our old, dead, zombie part which keeps springing back to life? He sure does! Though it taunts us; “go on, take the cookie… just park on the yellow line, everyone does it… oooo you are so bad for parking on the yellow line, aren’t you supposed to be a Christian?... God doesn’t love you anymore, see how bad you are…” and causes us to cry out like Paul “Who will free me from this body of death?” We can answer Jesus Christ our Lord!

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Your zombie problem has already been taken care of. Did Jesus die on the cross for sinners? Yes. Are you a sinner? Yes. Then He died for you and you are perfect in God’s eyes. He does not condemn you. He is always pleased with you, you belong to Him. You have been made alive in Jesus Christ.

The greatest treasure of all

So the Hub and I were watching obscure Disney movie “Treasure Planet” the other night and I had a law and grace moment.

(****Spoiler Alert****) 

Near the end of the film, would be hero Jim has just discovered the evil Captain Flint’s hidden booty. He climbs aboard a ship wreck lying amongst the gold and sees the Captain himself sitting there guarding his treasure. Captain Flint would be pretty threatening if it were not for the fact that he has no flesh on his bones. This guy’s been dead for a long time. Jim soon discovers that the whole place has been booby trapped and... cue the adventure of a lifetime!

Captain Flint had worked his whole life to gain all the treasure in the world and went to great lengths to stop anyone taking it but ultimately he lost it all; death took it from him. Jesus warns us about a man who stored up for himself great wealth on earth but he died with nothing because his riches were given away to someone else and he had rejected the greatest treasure of all; peace with God. 

How can you get peace with God? You can’t, Jesus got it for you by taking the punishment you deserve for you on the cross. Because of his death you can no longer be God’s enemy, instead He will adopt you into His family and you can be with Him forever. If you think that sounds like good news, you own a treasure no one, even death, can ever take from you.

a God I can love

About once a year the Hub and I break out the 2003 version of Luther: the movie. It’s a wonderful overview of one of the great pillars of the faith. But one quote in particular struck me this week as I was preparing some lessons for kid’s church.

“Martin, what is it you seek?”

 “A merciful God! A God whom I can love. A God who loves me.”

I have struggled for a long time to get a handle on Jesus. I am ashamed to admit that I have for a long time viewed His work for me on the Cross as only a cut and dried legal transaction rather than a work of great love by a huge God. It was only in the last few weeks when I have been forced to examine His life and works that I have been shocked at my feelings of superiority towards my Saviour.

I guess because I grew up in the church I have had a caricature of Jesus in my head. Various pastors have tried to teach me that Jesus was not just meek and mild, He was exciting but then they presented a picture of Jesus meek and mild. And let’s be frank, that’s not too thrilling is it. That’s not a person you can fear or respect. He always seemed more like a pushover to me. 

As a consequence I had not read the first four books of the New Testament in a very long time. And with the deadline for the kid’s church lessons looming I was forced to confront Jesus. What I discovered in the book of Luke shocked me. Finally I found in Jesus the God that Luther found “A God whom I can love” and actually admire.

Jesus has such great power that with one word he can heal a paralytic, still a storm, and cast out a demon. When He raises Jairus’ daughter, He tells her to get up, just as though He were her dad getting her out of bed in the morning. It all seems so effortless, like death is nothing to Him. And Jesus being God and all, of course it is effortless! Duh! Yet for Jesus to be able to forgive sins and conquer death it will cost Him His life. And He did this willingly for us, even arrogant old me.

Not a theology of glory

I can’t believe I’m going to say that I found a moment to comment on in the movie Blades of Glory but here goes…

Jimmy MacElroy was an orphan child who was adopted by a wealthy businessman. Jimmy’s father pushed him into figure skating with the express purpose of being the top in his field. Jimmy ties for gold with his arch nemesis, they brawl on the podium and are both banned for life from the sport. On the way home from the hearing Jimmy’s dad pulls over the car and tells him that because he can no longer win medals for him he has been un-adopted.

Is God like Jimmy’s father? Some Christians think so and I used to be one of them. I believed Jesus had paid for my sin on the cross and that got me into heaven but I had to be good all the time or else God would not be pleased with me and would turn away from me. 

But the Bible gives us a completely different description of what God is like. Because Jesus lived the perfect life for us, died on the cross for us and rose from the dead for us we can be assured that God is always pleased with us and will never turn away from us. When God looks at us, instead of seeing our failures He sees Jesus’ successes. Paul tells the Colossian church that “…you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3). Jesus paid for all our sins on the cross: past, present and future! “…our High Priest (Jesus) offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time… For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy” (Heb 10:12-14).

Even though we are daily reminded that we are not perfect, God promises us that we will always be His perfect children because of Jesus Christ. That’s good news.