Vox Lucens

[Thanks to all who visited my site this afternoon and bore with the "test" post--and even commented on it! I am experimenting with FeedFlare, and discovering that this server is incredibly slow.]

I’m going to do something new for this blog, something I don’t think I’ve ever done before–a movie review. It isn’t often that a movie sticks out as being either so good or so bad I actually want to write about it. (Red Dawn would be an exception, on the bad side, but I can hardly even think about it without feeling nauseous, which is not conducive to blogging.) The fact that this concept is rather foreign is probably obvious by the fact that I’m filing this post under “Humor (?)” and “Inspirational,” neither of which really fits.

All introductory comments aside, let’s cut to the chase: Expelled was fantastic. It was thought-provoking, brilliantly produced, and highly entertaining.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am a proud member of the “young-earth creation” crowd, which, if one is to go by this movie, is apparently a kook fringe of society. I tend to think we’re a little more stable–and intellectually honest–than that, so perhaps the vilification took the path of water on a duck’s back, but let me say at the outset that this is no creationistic manifesto.

In fact, it’s not much of a manifesto at all. Ben Stein’s bent towards intelligent design is purposefully obvious, but the point of the movie is not to persuade you that intelligent design is the truth. It’s designed to open the door to a rational debate on the subject–something that has not happened for decades. And that is the first reason I liked it. This 90-minute film recognized the inherent limitations of the persuasive quality of 90-minute films, and still made a profound point. While no one is going to be persuaded to shake their firmly held evolutionary beliefs because of a documentary, they just might be willing to think things through after it.

But the even better reason I liked this movie was the sheer brilliance of its production. As a student–and fan–of effective communication, I could not help but marvel at the elegance (if I may use a Dawkins-esque word) of the documentary. From opening scene to closing credits, it was built around one tantalizing extended metaphor that gave life to the overarching point of the movie. And underneath that extended metaphor, every element of the film, from the cinematography to the backdrops to the abrupt cuts to 60’s-vintage black and white reels, provided the foundational building blocks to the actual dialogue.

No, I’m not going to tell you what that extended metaphor was. I’m hoping, if you haven’t already, that you’ll go see this film and find out for yourself.

My friends in the creationist crowd, if this movie is successful, you and I need to be ready to do our part. We need to be ready to provide the evidence of the Creator. It’s out there, but it has been suppressed in public life for years–and if this movie can serve as a tiny crack in the dam of the establishment, we should be ready to pour through that crack with all the science and logic at our disposal. But let us remember, in the long run, that this science and logic is not the end game; our end goal must be to point all who see us to our Creator. This movie won’t do that…but it just might give you and me the platform we need to impact someone for eternity.

And to think, just the fact that Ben Stein called Richard Dawkins on the carpet would have alone been worth the price of admission.

This weekend I had the chance to head up to Virginia for Easter, and catch the sunrise service at the Arlington Memorial Cemetery.

I left feeling proud to be an American, and uplifted by the music and what really was a powerful, personal salvation message. But mostly, I left with a powerful visual of the Resurrection that I have simply not been able to shake. It first hit me when singing Bill and Gloria Gaither’s great hymn, “Because He Lives.”

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living, just because He lives.

What an absolutely ironic thing to sing in the middle of a graveyard. Surrounded by uniform white headstones, singing about life just doesn’t seem to fit. And yet it does; that is the message of Easter. That white tombstone doesn’t signify the end. It is the beginning!

And as we walked back to the car after the service, that visual persisted. All around the tombstones, the signs of life were unmistakable. The trees, the flowers, the robins all showed life. What a picture of eternity that is–eternity thanks to the resurrection. We live in a world of death, physical and spiritual, a world of all the pain and tears sin can muster.

But that’s not the end. That’s the beginning. The beginning of glorious, unending, perfect eternal life. Because He lives…

Happy Easter.

***UPDATE***

Well, not really an “update,” I guess–It’s Monday morning, and He is still risen! But I’m still thinking about Easter and it’s meaning for us as Christians, and I shared some of those thoughts at Remember Ambassadors. Check it out, and let me know your thoughts: Easter’s Power.

Last month, The Weekly Reminder ran a series based on 1 John 4. It is an amazing passage of Scripture, especially in dealing with our relationships with other members of the Body of Christ.

1 John 4:1-6

1 John 4:7-11

1 John 4:12-16

1 John 4:17-21

While I was writing those, there was one phrase in the chapter that just never seemed to make sense. In the middle of John’s writing on love, and why we love God, there is a seemingly unrelated sentence: “No man hath seen God at any time.” Right after saying that, the apostle goes on talking about love, talking about how God’s love is perfected in us when He dwells in us:

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

This morning, as I was meditating on the passage, this phrase jumped out at me again, only this time I realized why it is there. It is not random–in fact, it fits perfectly. You see, we ought to love one another, as we are told in verse 11. But why is that important? Because although no man has seen God, it is entirely possible to see God’s perfected love in the lives of His children.

What a responsibility that is. No one can physically see God, not the believer, not the unbeliever. But both can see God reflected in us. Does demonstrating our love to the Body of Christ matter? It absolutely does–it is how people see God.

[Cross-posted at Remember Ambassadors.]

Last time I posted I talked about your prayers…but tonight I am thinking about mine.

This has been a whirlwind week, with at least 13 hours of study each day, and sometimes much more. I’m in a strange place, working my butt off in pursuit of a goal that is very much not guaranteed. It is entirely possible that all this work could go for naught, and that really, really bugs me.

For a long time, I’ve had a very specific prayer when facing uncertainties like this, though. And as painful as it is to pray - because I really mean it - I find myself turning to it again this week. It’s a simple prayer, and it goes something like this: “Lord, if failing this test would bring You more glory, then let me fail. And if I pass, let that shed all the honor and glory on to You.”

There is a strange peace that comes with praying that painful prayer. Somehow, genuinely desiring God’s glory, and working hard for that purpose, is freeing. It helps that I truly believe that He can glorify Himself through my failure, should He so choose.

And while I hope more than I can say that His glory would be more served by my success, that is truly my prayer.

Over the holidays, there has been a lot of news of persecution. In Orissa, India, for instance, Hindus have used the Christmas season as a pretext for massive rioting, killing many and causing untold damages to churches. And that is but one story of many.

I follow so many of these stories that I sometimes get lost in the tragedy. And then something will come out that reminds me just how much I take for granted. That story, for me, was one that broke yesterday:

US Diplomat Killed in Sudan

The United Nations had recently warned its staff in Sudan that there was credible evidence that a terrorist cell was in the country and planning to attack foreigners.

That could have been me. I was there just a couple of weeks ago. I avoided riots just miles from where I was staying. I was called there, I know that, and knew that I was in God’s hands, but now this–I was taking my safety for granted.

Just this morning, I stumbled upon the work of a documentary photographer in Sudan. He appears to have traveled primarily to the south of Sudan, a different area than I have been to, but the people are the same, and the needs, and the reminder of just how much I take for granted. As I watched his video and fought the tears, I couldn’t help but pray and praise.

And so, at this annual season of reflection and planning, I am reminded of those two things. Praise, praise for the things both large and small that I take for granted, praise for the trials that only work to show me my need and bring me closer to Christ. And prayer–though I say it every week, I cannot say it enough. Prayer is power, power that I take for granted and thereby fail to take advantage of.

Prayer and praise. I want to build 2008 on those two things.