"Servile, and base, and mercenary, is the notion of Christian practice among the bulk of nominal Christians. They give no more than they dare not withhold; they abstain from nothing but what the must not practise. When you state to them the doubtful quality of any action, and the consequent obligation, to desist from it, they reply to you in the very spirit of Shylock, “they cannot find it in the bond.” In short, they know Christianity only as a system of restraints. She is despoiled of every liberal and generous principle: she is rendered almost unfit for the social intercourses of life, and is only suited to the gloomy walls of a cloister, in which they would confine her. But true Christians consider themselves not as satisfying some rigorous creditor, but as discharging a debt of gratitude. Theirs accordingly is not the stinted return of a constrained obedience, but the large and liberal measure of a voluntary service. " Real Christians by William Wilberforce
SO a few nights back I was watching Titanic with a friend of mine. I love that movie but for the first time I caught something which I had never contemplated before. One thing was when Rose, towards the end of the movie stated, "Jack saved me, in every way a person can be saved." Of course I disagreed but then I began to really think about something. The one thing that really hit me about the relationship between Jack and Rose that I find beautiful is that He sets her heart free. Now of course this really got me thinking, because I know no man can set my heart free, only God can. Now, God and Jack are very different, so I am not saying Jack necessarily represents Christ in Titanic, but there are definitely some similarities which I found fascinating and are causing me to see their love story in a different way.
Ok so the first time they meet, Jack saves Rose. How does he do this? By basically showing her that someone cares, He says, "You jump, I jump." Maybe I am stretching this a little, but the first thing God does is show us He cares, that we matter to Him; He tells us we have purpose and meaning, and not to throw our life away. He then shows her a different world, maybe not what I would call a very moral world, LOL, but just a free way of life, he shows her that her life could be different, free from the chains that people have placed on her, the burdens she bears.
She then tells him the next day she can't see him anymore. He tells her, "They've got you trapped, Rose, and you're gonna die if you don't break free." Isn't that how we were? captive to Satan and sin and destined for death if not freed? But we had to break free, we of course, couldn't do that on our own, but we had to choose Christ.
Ok next, what happened? Oh yea, she changed her mind. He didn't force her, Christ doesn't force us, our love must be a choice. Did you notice, he takes her back? He doesn't reject her but stands by her, even though she had rejected him earlier. He was patient. How many times did we have to hear the gospel before we accepted the Lord? Was it the first time? Have there been times we rejected God? But He always was forgiving and patient. They fell in love. But then he was accused of stealing from her, she felt she couldn't trust him. the world accuses God, it says that He causes suffering, that He can't be all good and loving. We, like Rose, have to come to the point where we choose to trust and believe Him, take a leap of faith and place our lives in His hand, which is where the next part comes.
Next part of the story, you have Rose being talked into going into the lifeboat, now this prob isn't completely accurate picture since Jack tells her to go. However, this scene forces her to choose:, life without Jack, or possible death with Him. Is our life more important than our relationship with Christ? Paul said we are to lose our life to gain Christ. Our life, if God isn't in it, is worth nothing, we have to see that even if it means death, having that relationship with Christ is more important. Rose literally jumps out of the lifeboat and into Jack's arms, she takes a leap of faith and places Her very life in His hand. Then what? Oh yea...Satan pursues us like crazy and we end up in crisis after crisis, trial after trial. We pass people who have chosen death, and Christ prods us on to continue, not to look back or linger. "when she sees Mr. Andrews and Jack hurries her to keep going.”
Through Jack's death- Rose gets that new life, she gets a new name, his name. Rose tells this story and changes people's views on what happened on the Titanic. Jesus Christ died and rose again, through His resurrection He gave us life and freedom from the chains of sin. He gave us His name- we are Christians, for Christ is within us. When we tell the story of what God has done for us, it changed people's lives and the way they see life and the Lord. We are free. God has set our hearts free. No man can set your heart free, so when you watch Titanic next I encourage you not to see Jack and Rose's relationship and think that you should find a man who does that for you, because the fact is, only one man will ever set your heart free, and that man is Jesus Christ and He has done above and beyond what Jack did for Rose.
So anyways just a thought I had the other day, maybe it is off, I don't know I think its cool, it makes me think of the story a little different, I hope I am not placing symbolism where it is not, I just think its amazing that Jesus's image and story is so intertwined throughout our lives, creation, and even movies that were made by men who do not believe in Him. It really shows how Amazing God is, the things He uses to paint His picture and leave His fingerprint. Because everything in this world is the distorted image of Him, stained by sin, yet we catch glimpses of who He is. May God Bless you and Reveal His hand in your life each day, opening your eyes to His glory.
Haha you WOULD find an analogy in that movie :p Nice work though! <3
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