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Youth News
from Justin . . .
by
Justin Ross
What a great time to be a
Christian! Later this month, a movie is going to be released that is going to
have the whole country talking about Jesus. Unfortunately, this movie will not
be praised in Christian circles, as “The
Passion of the Christ”
and “The
Chronicles of Narnia”
were. Why? This movie is going to raise a lot of questions. Is
Jesus Christ really who he said he was? Are the scriptures true? Have we all
been duped by a hidden conspiracy? I am sad to tell you that after reading the
wildly popular book version of this movie, many Christians have asked these very
questions. Which raises a question about questions… are they okay to have?
Beyond these, there are tons of questions about Jesus these days… a lot of
alleged “scandal.”
For those of you who don’t
know, the movie I am referring to is
The Da
Vinci Code.
The Da
Vinci Code is a
very popular novel, and now movie, that questions the very foundation of the
church’s history and perspective. Basically, the idea is a big conspiracy theory
that the church had a secret agenda to protect itself and its beliefs, and so a
number of theoretical clues are hidden in the works of Leonardo Da Vinci. It
claims that he belonged to a secret society (that he never actually did belong
to), and that Jesus had a wife.
Jesus does have a wife, by the way… the church. And he’s never cheated on his
bride.
I can give you a bunch of facts as to why the claims in this book are false, but
I’d rather point you towards a book that will do a much better job than I: “The
Gospel According to the Da Vinci Code.”
You can find it online or at any Christian bookstore.
I really am excited about the
fact that we are going to have the chance to have conversations with people
about Jesus because of something happening in our culture.
If we never open the door up
to ask questions then we never get the chance to pursue truth.
As a side note,
The Da
Vinci Code is a
very fun book and has a lot of historical facts twisted into fiction, much like
a movie many of you may have seen called
“National
Treasure”
starring Nicholas Cage. This is a movie released last year that claims that our
society is built upon secret codes that are found on our money and the
constitution, to name a few.
Sound familiar? Yet, no one watched that movie and started looking at their
money as a secret treasure map.
Anyway, back to
The Da
Vinci Code;
author Dan Brown says:
“My hope
for the Da Vinci Code was, in addition to entertaining people, that it might
serve as an open door for readers to begin their own explorations and rekindle
their interest in topics of faith.”
Why can people watch a
fictional movie about the government and accept it as fiction, yet read a novel
and allow it to rock the very foundation or their faith; or use it as a
justification of their lack of faith? Well, the possibility that things may be
happening out of our control is disturbing. The idea of a conspiracy theory is
comforting because it suggests that human agencies are at work... and so we have
somebody to blame or somebody to join. It’s almost easier to accept that we made
it all up than it is to believe in a God who is crazy about us and loves us in
spite of our sin… and longs to redeem us.
A nice side benefit of all of
these alleged scandals is that people today are getting back to the roots of
their truth. People are open to and looking for a new interpretation of
Christianity… not just the historical one that says it all started in the first
century A.D.
This month everyone is going
to be talking about Jesus and we are going to have an incredible opportunity to
openly talk to friends, neighbors, and colleagues about a subject that at any
other time would make them uncomfortable. We have good news to share, and we
should take full advantage of this opportunity. I know there are many, but here
is a good place to start:
The LORD
is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not
always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our
sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens
are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the
east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a
father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who
fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm
103: 8-14)
That’s what you want in a God
when you have messed up your life...you need a God who can show up in the midst
of pain and suffering… brokenness and sin… when relationships are struggling or
you’re up to your ears in little kids and have lost every bit of control you
have… a God who enters into reality and makes a difference in your life. A God
who proclaims, “I want to forgive you and I want to wash you clean…even thought
your hands are so dirty… and I want to call you child and I want you to call me
Father. And I want you to know what real love is all about… real justice is all
about…”
He knows your name… and he’s been calling it this whole time.
Now that is good news.
The
Da Vinci Code
offers none of this, it only creates questions. So, I challenge anyone with a
shrunk down God and a little itty bitty Easter to decode the real conspiracy
story… that God gave his only son so that our lives could be a part of His great
story.
Thanks be to God.
--Justin Ross |
