Disclaimer: I am writing this before I see the latest Marvel move: Avengers: Infinity War. I am doing so with a purpose. You can read this and know there won’t be any spoilers.
Having said that, let me tell you what’s on my mind. My family have been fans of superhero movies for a long time now. We watch them. We talk about them. We buy them. We watch and talk some more.
Because of this, we’re pretty attached to the characters, some of whom we have been watching for the past decade. So we actively avoid spoilers when a new movie is coming out. Yet we still see people’s opinions and thoughts posted on social media. My wife saw that several women were so shook up after the movie they needed cookies as a coping mechanism.
This is a little odd to me, but only because I do not need to be upset in order to need a cookie. However, I do understand being upset. In fact, if an entertaining movie can help us to feel emotion and consider truth, that’s a good thing indeed.
But if you see me struggling with where this story takes me, I’m ok with that. Given the trailers, I fully expect to see heroes die. If I mourn, it is because the story is told well. As I said, I’m a bit attached to these characters.
So what can Christians learn while watching the Infinity War?
1. Bad things still happen.
They happen for a reason. We call that reason sin. We know where it came from. We know the effects. We know the payment needed.
Because of sin, death happens. Loss happens. We grow attached to people in our lives and we lose them. When it happens in movies and books, we can decide we didn’t like what the writers did. But in reality, we have to deal with it.
2. Our compassion for those lost should be high.
If my favorite heroes are defeated, I will sad, but only to a certain degree. After all, I can go back and watch their previous adventures. And I will remind myself they are not real.
Back in reality, we should care at least as much. Yes, I know this has been preached before. We should be as excited about Jesus as we are about movies, sports, etc. Just because it’s been said for years does not make it untrue.
We should mourn those we lose, especially if they don’t know Jesus. Which leads me to #3...
3. The world needs to hear our message.
I have shared my love for superhero movies with many people. I tell them why I like the genre and sometimes we argue about which movies were better.
Closely related to the second point, we should be telling people about the truth of the Gospel. Clearly it is more important. Clearly it is needed. And it should be clear by now, Christians are the only means by which the message will be shared.
4. Victory is assured.
As I said, I am writing this before seeing the movie. Unless Marvel decides to go in an entirely different direction, one in which enemies rule the universe (and make movies), I’m pretty sure the good guys will win. Will there be loss? Yes, it is likely.
There is loss in reality as well. We know things will get worse before they get better. But we have the assurance that things will get better. Jesus will be victorious. There will be an eternity of celebration when we live as one with our King.
So I’ll see you at the movies. We can talk about them and what we liked and didn’t like. But perhaps, instead of just learning what a bunch of writers and actors have done with a story, let’s allow our emotions to teach us. Let them remind us of what we should already know.
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