Monday, July 2, 2007

Movie Review: Evan Almighty


Last week I went to see Evan Almighty with my family and I really enjoyed the movie. I went expecting the typical Hollywood treatment of all things Christian but instead was pleasantly surprised. There were a couple of lines I could have done without but overall it had a good message. I am somewhat perplexed by the response of some prominent Christian leaders. While the movie was certainly not theologically sound, it was still a great contemporization of a prominent Bible story that gives us some significant insight into the life of Noah and his family.

Normally, I wouldn’t bother to blog about a movie like this but there was one scene in particular that I thought made the entire movie worth my time and money.

*** WARNING – Mild spoiler ahead ***

At one point in the movie God appears to Evan’s wife as a restaurant worker named Al Mighty. She is having trouble coming to grips with her husband’s calling as a modern day Noah so God reminds her of a prayer she had prayed previously:

"When you pray for patience, does God just give you patience? Or does He give you opportunity to be patient? When you pray for courage, does He give you courage or opportunity to be courageous? And, when you pray for your family to become closer, does God just zap you with warm fuzzy feelings or does He give you opportunity to become close?"

Wow. If we could actually apprehend and comprehend the mountain of truth in those words it could be life changing for us. Perhaps God can even use Hollywood to communicate His truth to a culture hungry for His touch.
Lord, I too pray that you would give me patience, courage, and a closer family.

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