Phil Ware
I was stunned. I had just finished watching the movie TITANIC and was stunned. Although the score was great and the special effects were magnificent, I was a touch disappointed. While the technical side of the movie was excellent, the acting was weak, the characters were predictable, and of course we knew the end of the movie-well, almost.
How in the world could this movie generate some sort of world euphoric hysteria? A B-movie plot, with B-acting performances, a horrible example of a mother, simplistically drawn social class warfare, betrayal of commitments, and a loss of virginity all leads to a world gone crazy with TITANIC mania? I must have missed something! The numbers generated in both revenue, return viewers, and first time viewers is stunning. What is going on here? Had I missed the boat?
A deeper look, however, reveals some interesting insights. You see, TITANIC touches on the heart and soul issues of our humanity. The answers may not all be right, but this movie has reminded us, all of us on our little blue planet, of our inescapable mortality. So many things we think we've done well simply cannot withstand the assault of forces beyond our control. Even the movie's music reaches out to us and resonates on our longing for loving relationships that cannot be parted by death. The feeling throughout the whole movie is palpable: All of us are mortal-each hanging by a gossamer thread to life.
No matter what you think of the movie, or the beautiful actors and actresses, or the screenplay, or the script, at least give thanks that we are reminded again as a world culture of our humanity. Invincibility has always been our first step toward self-destruction, whether it occurred at the Tower of Babel or with the declaration that we had just endured "The War to End All Wars." This movie reminds us of how dreadful such arrogance is, and the dreadful human price that must be paid, when it is allowed to rule our lives and assuage our legitimate concerns. One iceberg, and we all return from invincibility and come back home to mortality. Underneath everything lie the deepest longings of the human heart for love, relationship, justice, fairness, reunion, remembrance, and victory over death.
Let's see this moment as an opportunity to go back to the only One who answers all those questions of our humanity. Let's begin finding ways to let his grace and truth speak to the deepest issues of these human dilemmas so others can share our hope in Christ. Let's be reminded that deep within the modern heart still beats a desperate desire to have connection to others that death cannot sever. And most of all, let's be reminded that God, the Eternal Almighty God, became mortal so we could have these greatest concerns addressed and our deepest longings fulfilled.
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