Love Again
If you are reading this episode on the release day, then I’d like to wish you a Sabbath filled with the Lord’s peace.
This week’s review is for the film, Love Again, produced by Brad Allen, Chuck Howard, Martin Michael, Tom Sanders and directed by Spencer Fritz.
Film Description
Amidst a distant relationship with his father and losing his girlfriend to his best friend. Nathan’s brokenness leads him on a journey of rediscovering hope and a healing heart to love again.
I wasn’t going to review this film. I think the mainstream Christian film industry is plagued with directors and writers that think if they match a few general requirements, the film can pass as a Christian film. This was my impression of Love Again, even though it has an actor that I had seen in other Christian films that I really like. In the film, there was a Bible on the table in a few scenes. An actress was shown reading her Bible a few times and quoted from scripture a few times. So check, check, check - that makes it a Christian film, according the mainstream Christian film industry.
The message of the film was forgiveness, but not even that seemed to increase my motivation to put it on my list of reviews. I had waded my way through the film, because of the message, but once the film was over, I had pretty much decided it wasn’t going to be on the list of reviews for True to the Word. Why? I normally don’t worry about the acting if the message is biblical. But I struggled with it in this film. In addition, the response to the act of sin really bothered me. It was, “It happened. You have to get over it and move on” - in a nutshell. Sure, I thought, but before we move on there has to be dialogue, right? I had my idea of what should have been done and more or less what should have been said. I’m an idealist and I thought about this the other day, my idealist list is part of my flesh, because my so called ideals are surely an abomination to the Lord.
I have had a few Bible verses on forgiveness on my daily devotions.
Matthew 6:14-15, Acts 3:19. I didn’t equate any of them with my experience of that film, but then as I was doing my daily Bible study, I read these verses.
3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him." 5 And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." 6 So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. Luke 17:3-6
I have read these verses and similar ones to it before. But this time around, it struck me, as I connected it to the film. I remember the dialogue in my head while watching the film and after it was finished. It went something like this…
Yes, but, his friend should have…
Well, his girlfriend didn’t…
I understand his frustration, and I think…
They obviously didn’t understand that…
Why didn’t they…
Surely they could have…
When I think about the dialogue in my head and chew on the verses from Luke, I see that the message of the film was simple but as the main character portrayed, so difficult to truly comprehend and do. Jesus doesn’t categorize the trespass and have conditions depending on what the person has done. He simply says trespass - everything comes under that . And that is why the disciples response to Jesus was, “Increase our faith.” Luke 17:5
What else is there to say a few thousand years later? Those three words, ‘Increase our faith,’ say more than any dialogue I could ever have in my head. My human reasoning, understanding and superficial love cannot on any level get me through a grave act of trespass against me. It simply isn’t enough. But faith from the Lord, in abundance, can. If I don’t have enough to make that leap to forgiveness on Jesus’ terms, as He described in Luke 17:3-4, then I can ask Him for more and keep asking until I surrender all of the pain related to the trespass, to the Lord and God the Father.
So, the decision to put the film on the review list was made right after I read the verses from Luke. No questions asked. I understood what the Lord was trying to covey to me. True forgiveness looks like Luke 17:3-4 and while it was not eloquently conveyed in the film, and the verses from Luke 17:3-4 were not mentioned - the clear message of Jesus was nevertheless present. Praise the Lord!
Thank you for reading to this review. Until next time, peace be with you.
Film Source: and thumbnail: www.christiancinema.com
