I’m not a fan of Christian movies. And I think I finally realized why. Christian movies have the tendency to wrap up the story with a perfect little bow. They turn a horrible situation into a perfect situation. Man deals with depression over losing his wife. Man finds God and never deals with a single problem ever again.
A pretty little bow.
But that’s not what life is like. Life is about wrestling. Man deals with depression over losing his wife. Man finds hope in God. Man fights a winning battle with depression.
It’s important to realize the value of wrestling in our stories – the stories we tell through our art, our sermons, and our church services. Preachers are notorious for putting pretty little bows on their sermons. “If you follow these three points your life will be perfect.” Perhaps that’s not what they’re expressly saying…but it can come across that way.
People want honesty. People know that life is about wrestling. To tell them life becomes perfect is misleading and unfair. And people don’t need that.
In a good story, even though there’s a happy ending, the pain of the loss is still there. It’s something the main character will always wrestle with.
- Even though the ring was destroyed, Middle Earth was ravaged. Many died.
- Life is Beautiful…the loss of the main character’s parents.
- Inception…the loss of the main character’s wife.
So keep your story honest. Don’t remove the fight from it. Give people hope for the conflict. Because we are ultimately victorious.
This is so true.
I am a pastor, and the other night I was invited to speak at a small group gathering in a rural setting. When I got there I was taken back to see they met at a place with a real wrestling ring. When we got through with worship and I had spoken, the guys then changed clothes and started a real wrestling match. I was SHOCKED!!
However, I was reminded that this Christian race is full of worship events and wrestling matches.
This is so true.
I am a pastor, and the other night I was invited to speak at a small group gathering in a rural setting. When I got there I was taken back to see they met at a place with a real wrestling ring. When we got through with worship and I had spoken, the guys then changed clothes and started a real wrestling match. I was SHOCKED!!
However, I was reminded that this Christian race is full of worship events and wrestling matches.
I like it…except when you told the ending of these movies I have not yet seen… 🙂
I like it…except when you told the ending of these movies I have not yet seen… 🙂