Lofland bLOG

. . . but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (or violets?)

We saw The Fountain tonight. I really enjoyed it.

Now I have to admit, I liked, and still like, 2001 Space Odyssey, and they are very similar. Honestly, I like things that are strange.

However, aside from just generally enjoying the oddness, I really liked the story.

Now, if you tell me you couldn’t follow the story line, then please never debate theology with me, you are obviously not up to the mental challenge.

That said, I really think it was a great story with a good moral. I would sum it up this way:

There is no eternal life without first passing through death, and Eternal life starts now.

The man in the story was continually trying to find eternal life without dying. He was, quite honestly, afraid of death. He wanted to pass into eternity without dying. That, my friend, just isn’t an option. When we understand better, and have faith, then we will not fear death, but instead, see it as the next step toward life eternal. It isn’t an easy step, but most great steps in life are not.

Secondly, the man was always putting off spending time with his wife, so that he could, well, spend more time with her. He ignored her so that he could find a cure for her cancer, so that she would live forever (or at least longer, though eventually his quest led him to seek not just a cure for cancer, but a cure for death). He needed to begin his eternal life by spending every last minute of his mortal life with his wife before she passed into the next life.

He was looking for eternal life to be something that would start in the future, but it starts right now, this very second.

I like it, and I think it is a keeper. I could use it to witness to others, and actually, I think it even ministered to me and changed me a little. I was telling God on my way to work today that I do have fears. I am afraid of people, and I am afraid of death. Watching this movie helped me to internalize and actually feel that I not only do not need to fear death, but that it is actually quite useless to fear it.

Oh, and now whenever I read John 12:24, I will always remember him dropping the tree seed into the ground over his wife’s grave. That was one of my favorite scenes in the movie.
Posted 12/12/2006 9:41 PM

2 Comments:

thanks alot man. well I decided to go with red again. just because of the door pannel thing. man I didnt know you sold the stang, buy hey thats cool because miatas are alot of fun just dont wreck it cause that wont be fun. oh yea and you, your wife, and your child were awsome on sunday just thought id let ya know. later
chris
Posted 12/19/2006 12:22 AM by mynameischrisandimbored

i missed you guys… thought maybe i just didn’t see you. i’ll have to come by and tell y’all about the wedding. and show pics.
did you get a miata?
Posted 12/23/2006 1:35 PM by midwifebethany