The Passion of the Art

Today (Wednesday) is one of my usual “work” days, but every now and then it gets sidetracked… like when ‘maw maw’ gets called in to work and so she can’t come to be with the kids during the day. So today I am blogging between reading stories to Brock and Kaylee… so if I accidentally mention Dora the Explorer or Cat In the Hat while writing about Jesus now you know why… my mind isn’t exactly focused.

I’ve wanted to share this all week. The Passion of the Christ has had a profound effect on my life. Not just the movie, but His passion. The movie was an incredible visual illustration of the Truth I have always known. After seeing it for the second time on Sunday night I walked out to my car, opened the door, sat down, put the key into the ignition, and then laid my head on the steering wheel and began crying like a baby. I wasn’t thinking about the movie. I was thinking about Jesus. And all this week I have personally felt a deeper love and passion for Jesus. I have had a particular hunger for reading the Word. Things… little things, you know… just haven’t bothered me as much this week.

I can still remember the first time I sang the song “Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble” in a room full of worshipers. The experience was amazing. I poured my heart out to God more than I had ever done before… and it had an effect on my life. I went home and loved my wife more. I loved Jesus more. I had a deeper passion for sharing his Word than I did before.

Art has a way of doing that. It has a way of escorting us into a more intimate personal experience with our Lord. And we come away from it a changed people. Not because of the art… but because of Jesus. The art was just the vehicle that drove us to Jesus.

But sadly, some people worship the art. Some people “believe” in the art. It becomes their Gospel… their Good News. But it’s not the art’s fault. The art knows its role. The art knows it is not the end… but merely a means to the end. The art knows it is not the message of Truth, but simply one of the many messengers that point the way to Truth.

One of the most fascinating lines from the Gospel of John (which was especially brought to my attention in the movie) is when Jesus tells Pilate, “…I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice” (The Message). It is this very line that explains whether or not people will get the point of this movie or not. If a person watches the movie SEEKING TRUTH, then they will find it… and they will find it in Jesus. Because the Spirit of Christ will reach out to them and reveal Himself to them.

The message of the Gospel is such a passionate message. The Good News is an absolutely incredible thing to consider. Are we as excited about the Good News, the Gospel message, as we were the movie before it’s release? Christians everywhere have no doubt had countless conversations about The Passion of the Christ over the past several weeks. It’s like we’ve been given a surge of excitement to all of a sudden speak to people about Jesus.

Or are we just speaking about a movie?

Will I still be talking with people about the passion of Jesus Christ a year from now? Will this surge of excitement still be in my heart when the visual images have faded away? Am I really in love with Jesus more? Or did I get infatuated with a movie?

My prayer is that (we) Christians would get as passionately worked up about the Truth as we are about a movie… that conversations about the “Good News” would pour from our lips as often and as freely as conversations about this movie. For “all seek the truth will hear His voice.”

Comments

[Amy]

I agree with you whole-heartedly. It is a blessing for us when we see all of the wonderful ways in which God tells us he loves us. I was talking with a friend today and all I could tell her was that I feel so loved - because of the way Jesus was looking at people in this movie. I could see myself in those people, being loved by Jesus. It was humbling, yet so filling. I love you Lord.