Just got back from a date with my bride. Umbria Pizza was worth the trip; the calzones are fantastic.
We saw the new Robert Duvall movie, “Get Low”. I won’t call it a Christian movie per se. There is no scene of salvation. But, it is a good example of how we will isolate ourselves out of pride and shame. We want to lock ourselves into a prison, hoping that if we “do enough time,” someone will say that we’ve paid our debt.
The truth is that no punishment we mete out for ourselves is enough. The movie mentions that, but it doesn’t hit the audience over the head with a message. It provides enough framework to make the viewer think about their own sins, and hopefully will provide launching pads for discussion about God’s forgiveness with others.
One thing that I loved about the movie was that it explored the necessity of confession. Confession of sins to God is vital and necessary, but the character in this movie wanted to get his life in the open with others. He was tired of hiding, and understood that the only way out of his prison was to confess the source of his shame. Ultimately, confession to Jesus is the only true path to freedom, but after that, confession to our brothers and sisters disarms the enemy, taking away his weapons of shame and fear.
It’s not a movie for everyone. Take a look at the review on PluggedIn.com to see if you think it would enjoy it. I do promise you that it will provide food for thought, and hopefully will spark conversations.
#1 by Jeff on September 16th, 2010
In the theater? Hadn’t even heard of the movie, but sounds thought provoking. Now I need to go see it!
What you share about disarming the enemy with confession and openness is missing overall in the church world today and it has all but killed off intimate (vulnerable) friendships and relationships.
It has us all in a shallow, unsustainable independent status where we are overly susceptible to overwhelming weight of guilt and accusations of the enemy.
Hard to “remind him of his future, when he reminds us of our past” because our past entraps us and we don’t have the strength to step through on our own and release the grasp of our past on us, keeping us from our future!