Thoughts from the Slumdog

Jeff and I rarely watch movies because it seems you have to see about a dozen duds, filled with sex and stupidity, before seeing anything worth your time.  Besides, there’s not much time in the evening to watch a movie in between 8pm Dutch bedtime and 8:30pm self-imposed Mommy bedtime! 🙂  But this week I had the joy of being at the beach with my dear Aunt and Uncle and cousin.  Jeff joined us Friday and we decided we could be wild and crazy and actually stay up late enough to watch a movie.  They had Slumdog Millionaire. Never heard of it. (I know, I know, I’m ridiculously out of touch with the movie scene, I saw that it was like Best Picture for 2008 or something).

Wow.  Wow wow wow.  By way of warning, there is a lot of violence, and it’s not a light, fun, easy to watch movie.  But wow.  I love movies that are eye-opening and this one surely was that.

A few things have haunted me since.  The movie taught a truth that God promises to His children. That He works all things for good (Romans 8:28).  The main character, Jamal, is violently interrogated as to how on earth he managed to know the answers to every single question on the Indian version of “Who wants to be a millionaire?”  With each question, Jamal recounts, and we witness, the hair-raising, sickening, tragic accounts of how his life growing up in the slums as an orphan prepared him in miraculous ways for each and every question he encountered. It’s moving beyond words.  If only we had a movie of our lives, and perhaps someday we will, I believe we would be astounded as we see the ways that the painful and at times torturing things God allows us to endure actually turn out to be the very things that better us, bless us, bring us “riches” so to speak.  We don’t necessarily become millionaires, but we benefit because all of life is Father-Filtered.

Secondly, and related to that, I was reminded again of the beautiful sovereignty of God.  In the movie they would call it destiny.  The ultimate reason that Jamal, the Indian slumdog, won the 10 million rupees was because “it is written.”  It is written.  Jamal was given the choice over and over throughout his life to choose right.  His life is contrasted with his brother, Salim, who did not make the right choices.  But while Jamal made the wise choices, his “destiny” was written.  As children of God we can rest in this!  Though we are called to choose, and it hinges on our choices, “it is written” for us!  God’s beautiful destiny is written for us.  We have a purpose.  We are called by His name.

And lastly, a certain line has stayed with me.  When Jamal finally finds beautiful Latika, the little girl from the slums who was separated from them as children, he holds her face in his hands.  “I love you.” He finally says. “So what?” is here reply.

So what?  She loved him too. She never forgot or quit hoping that he would return. But so what? What could they do?  Love or no love, she was the prisoner.  She had no choice, no money, no identity. She was hardly anything more than a slave, a concubine really.  So what?  So what could Jamal’s love do for her?

I don’t want to give away the end, but in essence Jesus Christ has found us. He has bought us, delivered us, searched to the ends of the earth for our heart, for our affections.  So what?  What does this mean? How will we respond?  Today Joel preached one phrase from John 3:!6, “So loved the world.”  Love.  Love always required action.  God so loved the world THAT He did something. When we love God we will obey HIs commands.

So what? So everything. The love of Christ changes everything.  When He finds us (we don’t find Him, by the way!), it changes everything.  We are regenerated, made new, by the power of His love. We are set free from the bondage of the slums of sin.  We, the slumdog, become a millionaire, rich in grace, rich in life.  Oh how perfect are His ways, how precious His love, His grace.  His love changes everything.  Believe this today.