I was recently formulating an inventory of movies that relay the concept of life-transforming discipleship. The pouring in of a guide to the younger, unseasoned disciple. The common thread in many of these movies is the helplessness of the learner and the total control of the teacher. The confusion of the disciple in trying to tie down the methods of his teacher and his eventual development as his unforeseen potential reveals itself through affliction.
There are so many truths packed into each one of these movies. I'll do my best to summarize each one, but the experience that film can portray is sometimes unparalleled.
Here's the rub:
The Karate Kid 3
Good Will Hunting
Scent of a Woman
The Last Samurai
The King's Speech
The Empire Strikes Back
I'm sure the list goes on.... I'll add more as I remember, but some of these movies are so key. In the Karate Kid 3, Daniel-san is in the midst of spiritual warfare. Mr. Miagi has one interest; teaching Daniel virtue, integrity and inner resolution. The enemy, Terry Silver, has one goal... To destroy Daniel in hopes of injuring Mr. Miagi.
This movie happens to be my favorite. This movie demonstrates spiritual warfare to it's core.
The truth is Satan can't touch God. God is God and of course Satan's creator. There's nothing that Satan can do in the realm of harm to the God of the universe. Satan knows, better than we do, that he is a created being under a Holy and powerful God. So what does he do with all this hatred? He lashes out at the prodigy... the image bearer. God's workmanship. I could go on and on about the parallels in this movie, but you have to just watch it. On top of being a dead-ringer to the story of God, it's an amazing close to the Karate Kid saga. Unfortunately, The Next Karate Kid starring Hillary Swank was the first in many unfortunate reboots, and should be discarded from all our memories entirely.
Then there's Good Will Hunting. This movie is gospel for a seemingly infinite amount of reasons. The main character is a disturbed, trouble maker from south Boston named Will Hunting. The movie's name is GOOD Will Hunting for heaven's sake!!! How can we miss this gospel? This kid can't go two days without getting into a fight on the streets, and eventually it gets the best of him when he hits a cop and goes to jail. One out of many counselors and therapists sees the potential, not in his ability, but in his character. Sean Maguire, a fellow Bostonian sees the wounded, scared and disillusioned delinquent and knows that Will Hunting is capable of being more than a performer.
Scent of a Woman marks the story of Charlie, a softy, college kid that lands the job of babysitting an army corporal. Little does he know, he's about to receive the ultimate experience in manhood. This movie perfectly captures the experience of graduating from childhood into adulthood. The whole movie, Charlie receives these unforgettable lessons about how most people in the world are pathetically fake. From Frank Slade's arrogant family, to the boyfriend of the random girl in the restaurant, the formational concept in this movie is not about proving who's right or who's wrong, but more in line with being wrong, with integrity. This is an important lesson for the Kingdom of God. We need to realize that without Christ, we are all wrong, and even after we receive Christ, we can be wrong, and our flesh still is wrong, and we need to be sources of grace to ourselves and the world around us when it all comes crashing down.
Frank Slade's speech at the end of the movie is an incredible representation of Jesus fighting for us in the courtroom of our accusers. So many times, the Devil pins us down under accusations with concepts that if carefully thought out, hold no weight yet sound fierce, and pan out to be more emotion and intimidation than legitimate truth.
The Last Samurai explores the heart of the wounded warrior. (Do I sound enough like John Eldredge or do I need to wax more extravagant). Nathan Algrin has an alcohol problem, and is extracted out of his element by a much more seasoned and centered warrior... from the enemy's forces no less! Instead of his enemy in battle destroying him, his enemy teaches him, restores him, and nurtures the poet balance that is present within every warrior. This is so true of Jesus! While in the midst of horror, Jesus teaches us about beauty. In the presence of pain, He shows us the reality of God's love. Jesus grants us power under the banner of great restraint.
King George the 6th cannot make a speech to save his life in a world that is not communicating by radio. His success depends on the ability that is his greatest weakness. In The King's Speech, Colin Firth plays a King in the making that refuses to accept his mantle of royalty and that trusts more in his weakness than in his potential to grow. "Berty" also has the heart of a servant and a devotion to what is right over a devotion to self-service, made evident in his brother. The counselor to counseled relationship is awesome. Unmistakable, at certain parts, for the way Christ deals with our uncertainty, our rejection of His encouragement and our fatalist assumption of all things being lost, the King's counselor Lionel Lougue demands that he relate in unassuming, friendly terms that force royalty to humble themselves. The wonderful paradox of this movie is that Lionel's counsel to the King emphasizes humility and equal standing with all men, while reassuring King George's total qualification to rule a country, even a country at the brink of war.
So much like Jesus. To bring us down to bring us up. Jesus says in Mark 10:42-45
“You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Perfectly capturing the ethic of Jesus, I say.
The Empire Strikes Back has one thing that keeps me comin back for more every time.
The revelation of Yoda as one of the most powerful Jedi's of all time.
He's green, he's short. He clearly has no lightsaber... he may not even have any known enemies. But by spending a little time with him, you know that he can take down armies. How?
With wisdom. With practiced strength that flows from a direct, unfiltered connection to his source of power. Luke is in an unmistakable phase of questing, fascination and discovery of his own powers. Little does he realize that these things, if unchecked, can turn into an obsession and rule his future as a Jedi, eventually turning him to the dark side with the promise of more power. Yoda's central theme is that his looks and approach break every perception that Luke has for what a Jedi should be and move Luke into a oneness a solidarity that align morals and action in a way that has him speaking life into his own father, DARTH VADER, in the next movie. Luke tells his own father, the resident master of the force in the galaxy, "Search your feelings father, there is good in you, I know it." And Luke's commitment to the truth about the dark side, the Jedi way, and refusing the power granted by moral sacrifice gives us a glimpse of the finished man that can come about when allowing Jesus to break our perceptions and show us a way that is so unpopular, it's actually totally unheard of.
There are more, much more lessons to be learned from these movies and other movies. Dutch is another good one. Blind Fury with Rutger Hauer, a great one. A blind vet takes on his best friend's kid to show him that the world isn't safe and that selfishness is the safest form of living there is, resulting in self-defeat. It goes on and on and on.
Then there's our story. Someone, much much greater than us has swooped in as if from nowhere. His words have challenged and tried us to the point of total confusion. His Spirit has kept us in the game by way of total attraction to His person. At the moment of our utter desperation and imminent failure, he has entered the situation uninvited and saved us, rendering the enemy powerless. We are Daniel-San, we are Charlie, we are Luke... only it's Jesus that comes and opens our eyes. We need rescue.
That's all for now. Check out this clip from Scent of a Woman.... we live in an unfair world, but we have a lawyer that argues our case.... PERFECTLY. In addition to that, He validates us as people, fully restores us, and contends for the person that is hidden beneath the fallen man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH4p9BQ3V9o
