As we grow in our Christian lives, our perspectives about some things may change. Second Peter 3:18 says, But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ... As we get more mature in the Lord, get more involved in service, memorize more of His word, and just experience life, we sometimes get a deeper view of things. I experienced this yesterday as I revisited a movie that I really loved in 2006. I still enjoyed it yesterday, but my perspective has changed a little bit. I'm going to use this movie as an example, but many things can serve as a gauge for your growth.
In 2006, the Christian movie Facing the Giants made history as a Christian theatrical film that actually hit theaters, and wasn't too corny. I grew up renting cheesy Christian movies from the Christian bookstore. None of them would have had any hope of being in theaters. It wasn't that these movies weren't good. Some were really wonderful and made really good points, and had decent acting. They just didn't have the budget secular films had to work with. Christian movies had been in theaters here and there prior to 2006, but Facing the Giants was a new standard. It was the second film made by the Kendrick Brothers (who went on to make very successful movies, such as War Room, Overcomer, and The Forge). Their movies are inspirational, and deeply Christian. Truth is never compromised. Due to the Kendrick Brothers, and others like them, Christian media is now much higher quality and much more common than it was when I was growing up. Christians have carved out a place for themselves in mainstream entertainment. Facing the Giants was an early success, grossing $10 million dollars against a $100,000 budget. The Kendrick Brothers films have only grown more and more successful since then, as well as more and more professional.
I was 25 when I saw Facing the Giants in the mid-2000's, and I thought it was wonderful. In case you're not familiar, the basic plot is as follows.
Grant Taylor is a football coach at a Christian high school. It seems everything is against him. His team has a losing record. The players' fathers are pressuring the principal to fire him. His car constantly breaks down (and he can't afford a new one). His house has a terribly foul smell that he and his wife Brooke are unable to find the source of. On top of all of that, Grant and Brooke are struggling with infertility. The discouragement is portrayed well, and the audience can easily relate to Grant (even if they haven't been in his exact circumstance, they can relate to being discouraged, at the point where only God can help). The lowest point in the film comes when Grant learns that he is the cause of their infertility, and then he goes back to his office at the school to find the fathers meeting with the principal to try to get him fired. He comes home, and he and his wife cry together, and it is a real tear-jerker. They are at the end of their rope, and only the Lord can deliver them. The next scene shows Grant really wrestling with the Lord, reading his Bible, and crying out to God. He eventually concludes he is going to give God his best in all things, and leave the results up to Him. So far, so good.
The rest of the film shows how Grant's commitment to obedience impacts his team. Their attitude becomes, "If we win, we'll praise God, and if we lose, we'll praise God." They begin playing better as a team, and have some wins. A revival happens at the school, and one of the toughest boys on the team is saved. This boy's father (who had previously wanted Grant fired) is now deeply touched by Grant's influence on his son, and ends up buying him a new truck to replace his clunker (but does it anonymously). Grant gets a raise. Grant and Brooke finally discover the terrible stench in their home was a dead rodent, and they get rid of it. The football team ends up making it to the state championship, and face a team called the Giants. Long story very short...they win. It isn't that simple. There are a lot of suspenseful moments leading up to this. At the very end, Brooke reveals that she is pregnant, so they are able to have children after all! The final scene shows Two Years Later, and shows Brooke lovingly looking in on Grant, playing with their toddler, and she pats her again-pregnant stomach, and in the background, we see two more championship trophies, revealing that their team has continued to win. This is a basic synopsis, without sharing some of the secondary plots and characters.
At 25, I was deeply touched by this movie. I knew discouragement, and the feeling of being at that moment where only a touch from the Lord can help. I knew there were those spiritual moments where God seemed to minister to my spirit (the movie portrays these well). There are several very touching scenes that really ministered to me, and still do.
At 25, I was single, really wanting to meet that "right guy" God had for me. I was really seeking God for His will for my life. The desperation I felt was similar to Grant and Brooke's infertility desperation in the movie, and I had to wrestle like they did. It wasn't just that I wanted to marry. My heart and spirit had been crushed in relationships, and it made me feel invalidated. Everywhere I turned, I got different advice (most of it unasked for!). I knew I was supposed to be married, and it broke my heart when it wasn't happening. I knew I needed to live by faith and not by sight--and that eventually led me to my husband Walter. This movie really gave that encouragement. I also knew discouragement, followed by those spiritual moments where God intervenes. I knew that I wanted everything I did to count for eternity, as the movie urges. So at 25, I related to the message. And I will add that I still do relate to those parts.
I am no longer 25. I am no longer single. God has led me onward from where I was at that time. While this movie (which I watched yesterday for the first time in a while) still encourages me, there are some points I now have a small issue with. Small. I obviously still agree with the truths taught.
I find it a little predictable. Things are going really badly for these poor characters. They hit their lowest point. They seek the Lord, and then things turn around drastically. Every problem is resolved by the end, including the infertility. While it is done beautifully, it might have been more powerful to show only some of the problems being resolved, and them still wrestling but trusting with the others. Or, maybe it should have shown them pursue adoption instead of Brooke being pregnant. As someone who has struggled with infertility, I find their sudden turnaround in this area disingenuous to those of us who really have wrestled with it, and still didn't get pregnant.
My biggest gripe is that the doctor Grant sees tells him his options for having children are IVF and adoption. When Grant says they can't afford IVF, the doctor says adoption is just as expensive. That really bugs me. If you are adopting through a private agency, then, yes, it can be expensive. But if you are adopting through the foster system (or the Cherokee Nation, like we did) the cost of adoption can be little to nothing. We paid $27 for the new birth certificate, but nothing more. We even get paid a small monthly stipend (and he is 100% adopted--our son, but we still get a stipend). So, implying adoption is always costly is a misleading message, and may discourage viewers from considering it. God didn't allow us to have our own children, but He led us on this beautiful path of adoption, and it has been just as redemptive as Brooke's pregnancy in the movie. I think the way it is handled in the movie kind of gives adoption a bad name. I know that wasn't their intent at all. I also think God can meet us in our discouragement, and lead us on to victory, even if we don't always see these extreme wins. Just because you gave it to the Lord doesn't mean your team will start scoring championships, or that someone will give you a new car. Sometimes, God meets us in quieter ways, or He does these bigger things over a longer period of time.
Where I'm at in life now has given me perspective I didn't have years ago. Sometimes, revisiting a book, series, movie, etc that has been meaningful to you can help you see how far God has brought you. You can still glean from what ministered to you in the past, but also see how far you've come. These things don't technically change, but you have changed, and you can see it by how you now relate to these books, shows, movies, etc.
On a deeper note, God's word never changes, and you will never outgrow it. You can read a passage that ministered to you years ago, just when you needed it, and you will remember God's faithfulness to you. However, God might open even deeper revelations of Himself to you that you are now ready for. That is how His word is different than a movie or book. You have the Author living in your heart. John 16:13 says, When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
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