Hope while navigating catastrophes
My wife and I recently watched the Netflix movie Leave the World Behind, starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, and Ethan Hawke. As the movie progresses, you begin to realize that something catastrophic has happened in the USA, and the technology we all rely upon is no longer available. The main characters struggle to figure out what’s happening, what they should do next, and how much they should trust each other. Through odd camera angles and tension-building music, the director paints a picture of unease and curiosity that lasts over two hours. By the end of the movie, there is no resolution given to the world changing events; instead, the story has focused on the dynamic of ordinary people reacting to and changing in situations they can’t control.
To be honest, I don’t watch a lot of movies, but when I do, it’s typically for simple entertainment value. Give me a story where the problem is resolved, there’s some crazy action stunts, sprinkle in some unexpected, quippy humor…and I’m good. Leave the World Behind did not even come close to that category of film.
Afterwards, my wife and I talked through all the different catastrophic scenarios that could happen in our area and what we could do about them. We recognized that you can prepare for a lot of stuff, but ultimately, you can’t prepare for everything. That’s when it hit me – if all there is to our lives are the events we are living through right now, then the realization that a natural disaster or global catastrophe could end everything we know and love…that would be mind-shatteringly depressing. However, if Jesus is right and death is not the end of our lives…then the potential of these terrible scenarios, while still horrific, have much less bite.
In light of God’s promise of life beyond what we see here, thinking through all these uncontrollable world events reminded me of a few verses I memorized many years ago, from my NIV84 Bible:
Titus 1:1-2
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Christ Jesus for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness – a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time
The faith we have in God and the knowledge God gives us of the truth are not simply coping mechanisms to make us feel better in this life. Trusting God is who He says He is and striving to understand Him better are not just distraction techniques or escapism fantasies, ideas that have no foundation other than our own wishful thinking.
Instead, Paul tells us that our faith and knowledge [are] resting on the hope of eternal life. Our foundation for our trust in God and our perspective on this life rest upon our confident expectation that God has promised eternal life to those who believe Him for it. God promises that He gives us never-ending absolute fullness of life. Do you believe that? If you do, then our confident expectation of eternal life is what sustains us as we move through all of life’s troublesome times. Even when the catastrophic happens.
Keep Pressing,
Ken