I Couldn’t Handle It
The Passion of the Christ has been
lauded as the spark that will ignite a nationwide revival and perhaps reclaim
our nation for Christ. I’ve been told
that those who have seen the movie leave the theater speechless and seem to
have a deeper understanding of the pain and suffering that Jesus went through
for them. The movie appears to be
deepening the roots of commitment to the Lord for those who see it, yet many admit
that they would not go to see it again. Why? Because it was a brutal,
graphic portrayal of the torture, pain and agonizing death of the One they
love.
I’ve
been asked countless times, “Have you seen the movie yet?” and my response has
been the same. “I can’t bear to see what my Savior went through.”
I made up excuses that it would be too brutal for my wife to see because she leaves the room when there’s a monster movie on T.V. She loves the old Roy Rogers and Lassie Come Home films and so, to protect her from this “R” rated violence, I decided not to take her to see The Passion.
It
seemed more noble for me to protect her from the
horror of our Lord’s torture and crucifixion.
I thought to myself, I love my dog Stormy
but what if someone filmed two hours of him being beaten, abused, and tortured
to death in living color and wall-to-wall sound. Could I view the pain and
listen to the howls and cries? I just couldn’t do it. I love the Lord more than
my dog and I can’t imagine going to this film anymore than I could watch my
dog, wife, child, friend, or even an enemy go through what Christ is depicted
as going through without recoiling and leaving in horror.
Yes,
you should go see The Passion of the
Christ -- if you can handle it. In
fact, I recommend that you do. And, while you’re at it, take a bus load of non-believers
with you. It’ll give ’em a good taste of what our
Lord physically went through. Just make sure they understand WHY He went
through what He went through and the fact that He did it for them because He
loves them. Make sure they know that without accepting Christ as their personal
Savior they can expect an eternity of far worst pain and suffering than what’s
depicted in that movie.
Rick Mathes and his wife Trish are the founders of Mission Gate Prison
Ministries, an outreach to those who are incarcerated and their families in
Missouri and Illinois, headquartered here in