I just finished watching the third of my three annual Lenten
movies, Saving Private Ryan. I guess the
timing is right, on this Holy Saturday evening.
I watched the other two movies, I am David and The Passion, with friends
earlier this Holy Week.
As the years pass, I appreciate the beauty of these movies more
and more deeply. They are movies of life
and death --- much, much, much death.
They are movies depicting the many hardships of life, the horrible
decision we must sometimes make, and even sometimes, who we must die for. And yet despite this focus on the hardships
of life, at the end of each movie is tears, yet they are tears of happiness,
for a life well lived.
None of the movies does much in the way of showing of what
our culture defines as happiness in life; I guess that’s because we focus so
much on that definition of happiness that we don’t need any reminders. No, we need movies such as these to remind us
of the value of the difficulties of life, and how each life is important. And we need to see how in each movie someone
is willingly giving up their life for another.
Life, something so important, yet we see someone willing to give it up
for another.
I thank God for His sacrifice, which helps me make sense out
of these movies, and of my life. Each of
the movies shows that one life is only important if it affects other lives, and
by itself each life is only someone alone.
We exist not for ourselves and our happiness, but to make the world and
other lives better. We exist to make a
difference.
Why does it take so many years to come to that realization?
I look forward to my Easter.
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