Go ye into all the world and make a movie?

This morning I awoke to read the wonderful world of scathing Christian movie critics... Primarily friends... Reporting back on the movie "Noah".  It appears (I have not yet seen it) that the movie has left the biblical narrative and has left a sour taste in the mouths of Christians who feel that God was misrepresented..

Sigh...

How can I say this politely? God did not ask us to share the truth of His character through the simplicity of the silver screen but through the messy distorted and often confused reflections of our lives.  Once again we are attempting to buy our evangelism. Shot gun evangelism. "If we just get the gun pointed correctly at people who don't know the story that somehow the story will bring heart change and repentance will occur.  BLAM!!!   There! Take that! Now do you know God yet?" This is not only NOT biblical it simply is complete nuts!

It appear from the communication being printed and spoken through Facebook, Christian Blogs and discussions throughout the Christians subculture that some Christians are somehow disappointed for God that He is being painted as a distant heartless vengeful deity that is hellbent on destroying the world with little to no discussion or negotiation.   SPOILER ALERT!    Read the bible.  He clearly is that... in this story.  

Yes we understand the entire narrative of his grace and mercy... And we get the need to protect the redemption plan that God has designed for man... but come on people.... The entire population of the world is destroyed in a single planned attack!  This is not the simplicity of the bible story on flannel graph. (As the bad people simply get lifted off the poster board and placed back in the box.) If you believe the bible and its truth, millions of real people were viciously and ruthlessly destroyed and covered by millions of gallons of water and died as they drowned in fear and distress.  What part of that story fits with our modern church sensitivities? "Be careful...don't offend anyone... they might not like our God."

Is it our desire to let the writers and producers in Hollywood to somehow bring repentance to the world? Is it our desire to want Hollywood to characterize God on our behalf? That thinking is empty at best and irresponsible at worst.

This Easter we are telling the life changing story of the viciousness of the cross. But not in some distant narrative -  rather in the messy, confusing often repulsive stories of Christ in us... The hope of glory.

"Beauty in the Broken." 

I'm broken... And yet God! This world is broken...and yet God. You're broken...and yet God! Jesus was broken...and God!

The distant God of Noah with His purity, holiness, jealously, righteousness and truth offends... But it needs to! Its reality needs to sink deep into our hearts to allow us to see past our false sense of entitlement and self security, to the place of brokenness and need that brings reality to our lives. For without that reality we will never see or know the closeness, mercy, long suffering, redemptive, justifying grace of God, paying the price for the world so that we would not need to.  

 
Enjoy the movies, but don't release the responsibility to reflect God's character and love to the world to the thin veneer of the silver screen, but rather allow your wounds and scars to be filled with the grace of God and His character clearly seen through the drama of your broken life. The three dimensional you will trump the artificial 3d image of the screen. 

Leave the message of the grace of God to the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. It is there that the victory is won and the enemy is overcome.