There were numerous parts to the film, Noah,
that were very powerful. Choosing one was not easy but the specific scene that
hit me the hardest was possibly the cruelest part of the entire film. As Noah
and his family are safe and secure inside the boat all they can do is sit in a
deathly silence of what feels like pure guilt as they hear the horrific shrieks
of people outside holding on to a giant boulder for life. The director puts the
camera on the people struggling, grasping onto the rock for dear life. They
scream of horror and cry out for help as they see a giant ark within distance
to them. The atmosphere is almost too uncomfortable to watch and is so loud
that the screams are so loud that they pierce my ears. Suddenly, unexpectedly,
the camera angle goes off of the people, in fact, we are now inside the ark.
Complete silence fills the theater and the director puts the camera on the
middle son, Ham. Throughout the movie the viewer begins to dislike Ham more and
more. He disobeys his father numerous times, is continuously being the troubled
child, and is planning on betraying his father. As I saw him sitting in the ark
listening to the shrieks of the desperate people outside I thought to myself
how I wish one of them could replace him sitting peacefully inside the ark; as
soon as I thought that, it me harder than ever. I realized that I have been,
am, and will always be in the same situation as Ham until I leave this earth: broken.
Ham by no means deserves to get to be in that boat because he has constantly
been sinning and turning his back on God but he is there. It reminded me of how
I have the same gift that I do not deserve.
I am a sinner, a broken man, but none of that matters because of how
great God’s love is for me. John 3:16 talks about how God gave the ultimate
sacrifice by sending his only son to die for me and because of that I have a
chance of real life. I by all means should be outside during the flood getting
ready to drown but instead I get to sit in Ham’s seat and have the opportunity
to live. That moment in the film was so powerful because it really made me
remember how fortunate I am to have a gift of life. I am so unworthy and am a
sinner but God’s love is so strong, his agape love for me is why I am given
life and the film really hit me hard reminding me of that.
Romans 5:8
says “God demonstrates his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.” I hope that I never forget how unworthy I am but with that being
said, how loved I am.
Luke Jeffery Response: Luke, awesome post! I love how you spoke about the depravity of man and contrasted it with the goodness of God. I really enjoyed that they displayed the depravity of man in the film. Sometimes it is easy to gloss over the Noah story and not understand how depraved the generation that Noah lived in was. The reality is that the generation was sinful and not pleasing to God's eyes, yet Noah was the only one that found favor in His eyes. I wonder sometimes about America and the world in general in terms of our sinfulness. Does God see us the way that He saw Noah's generation? If so, what does that mean for us? I do believe, however, that God is raising up people whom He sees as faithful in His eyes. These are the ones who He entrusts crazy plans to, like Noah. They take faith and hope to complete, but God supports them in these dreams and they eventually come to fruition.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to remark on the way that Noah was displayed in the film. He was shown as someone who struggled to hear the voice of God and to understand what His will was. I think this is a common human experience and I am glad that the Director portrayed this the way that he did, even though he received backlash for it. However, I also do believe that God continues to speak today! Sometimes we as humans get disillusioned in our thinking and we forsake the reality that God can speak to us. Overall, great analysis Luke!