Unbreakable
I like M. Night Shyamalon's movies. I liked The 6th Sense (even though some of my wife's friends told me the end before I saw it). I liked Signs (even though a movie about an alien invasion is an odd vehicle for a positive message about faith.) But, most of all I loved Unbreakable (the one with Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson). The beginning of the movie has a very sad feel to it. The main character's (Willis') life isn't what he wants it to be. He goes on to describe a sadness that he can't rid himself of...an emptiness of unknown origin. Jackson's charater suggests to him the possibility that the sadness might come from the fact that he isn't doing what he was meant to do or, stated differently, he isn't being who he was created to be. As Willis' character learns how he is gifted, discovers his purpose, and begins to live it out, the sadness goes away. The void begins to be filled. With the exception of a very strange plot twist at the end, his life comes together. I really identify with that metaphor, although I don't know that I'm at the end of it yet. My Christianity somehow felt empty. I carried around this sadness that sometimes masked itself as cynicism. It finally began to dawn on my that I wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing. My definition of the Gospel and my understanding of the kingdom were off. I had bought into a christianity that was all about me and my salvation and it turned out to be mind numbingly empty. Then I began to see that Jesus was calling me into His mission. He was inviting me to join Him in His adventure. The God of the Universe had a dream for this place and these people and He wanted to use me, of all people, to help make that dream a reality. He had gifted me with special abilities so that I could be used for His God-sized dreams. The purpose God has for me isn't about my personal prosperity, or where I live or which job I take (although I trust Him on all of those things). It has to do with making the world what He dreams for it to be (the church too). The void is filling up and the sadness/cynicism is lifting. The God who dreams, who calls, and who equips makes those who step into His vision unbreakable
AE