There is nothing like having the time to relax and watch a good movie. It is not often that I find the time or the energy to stay awake to watch a movie. However, from time to time I do sneak in a movie. My favorite movies are usually romantic comedies. I just love it when you can find laughter and romance in the same movie. That definitely inspires me to laugh and love more. Those are two qualities that I want in my life for sure. Yet, I had the opportunity to watch an action packed thriller called "The Edge" that has really inspired me. This movie did not inspire me to laugh and love more but to extend grace and mercy to those who do not deserve it. In essence, to be a more thoughtful person. Thoughtful just means to be considerate or you might say, to consider others over yourself. While laughter and romance are sometimes hard to find in life, could it be that grace and mercy are even more difficult to encounter.
The word "edge" simply means an advantage or favorable position (above being affected or influenced). I can say for sure that one of the characters in this movie definitely had the "edge". I do not want to give the whole movie away but I do want to share some highlights with you that I hope will entice you to watch this movie for the first time or maybe watch it again if you have seen it before. I have watched it several times and it still inspires me.
The movie has several characters in it but there are two that really stand out in this movie. Charles is really the main character. He is a very rich and intelligent man who many think to be "a most thoughtful man". Bob is a very greedy man who envies Charles and wants everything he has, even his wife. Charles is married to a much younger woman. She is a very beautiful model. Bob is an employee who is paid to photograph Charles' beautiful wife. Unfortunately they ( Bob and the beautiful wife) are having an affair and Bob wants Charles out of the picture. Charles is a very intellectual man and can sense that Bob is after his wife and even thinks that Bob wants to kill him. They end up lost in the wilds together after a plane crash and spend most of their time trying to find shelter, food and safety from a Kodiak bear which is known to be a man killing machine, all the while hoping that someone would come and rescue them. It was interesting to watch the characters of these two men. Charles characterized grace and mercy while Bob characterized greed and jealousy. I won't tell you the whole story but in the entire movie Charles definitely had the "edge".
Grace has been defined as giving someone what they do not deserve and mercy has been described as "not" giving someone what they do deserve. Charles was clearly a picture of God's grace and mercy in our lives and Bob was clearly a picture of many of us at times (greedy and jealous). Charles had every right to be against Bob but regardless of what Bob did to him ( and believe me Bob did a lot of mean things) he continuously extended grace and mercy to Bob. Bob did not deserve Charles' thoughtfulness and kindness at all. He was jealous of Charles and wanted his wife and his fortune. However, time after time Charles amazed Bob with his ability to remain calm and composed through such difficult times. I only pray to be that thoughtful and considerate to someone who cares nothing about me.
A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself. Proverbs 11:17 NIV
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7 KJV
Do you know that God is that thoughtful and considerate to us? So many times we do things that hurt God. Yet he remains calm and composed and is very generous with his grace and mercy to us. We all have a tendency to be greedy and jealous at times and will even do things to hurt others to get what we want. When we treat others that way it hurts them and it hurts God.
Is there anything in your life that you desire so much that it is worth hurting someone else or hurting God? When we hurt others, we are indirectly hurting God, but ultimately we are hurting ourselves. Are you involved in something that would hurt someone else or God and ultimately hurt you? Do you desire what you want more than what God wants?
...Jesus told this story: "A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, 'I want my share of your estate now before you die.' So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. "A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into the fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. "When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, 'At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant." So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love (grace) and compassion ( mercy), he ran to this son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.'
"But his father said to the servants, 'Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.' So the party began.
"Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 'Your brother is back,' he was told, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.'
"The older brother was angry and wouldn't go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, 'All these years I've slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!'
His father said to him, 'Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!"
The prodigal son is a picture of greed and the older brother is a picture of jealousy. The prodigal son desired to have money and wild living so much that he asked his father for his inheritance and left and went away to a far country and spent it all on promiscuous women and ended up working in a pig pen longing for what he used to have at his fathers house. When the prodigal son finally came to his senses, the father was waiting with open arms and gave him a welcome home party and more... (including a robe, a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet). That is grace and mercy. However, the older son, who had stayed home and remained loyal to his father was jealous that the prodigal son received such grace and mercy. The character of Charles in "The Edge" is similar to that of the father in this story. Charles continued to have open arms to Bob no matter what happened.
The prodigal son is really a story of God's grace and mercy to us. We are all prodigals at times, who want our way and who desire things that are not God's will for our lives. We are also all older sons at times who are so jealous of what others have been blessed with that it makes us miserable. So where are you right now? Are you a prodigal or an older son? Are you desiring something that is not godly? Let me share some good news with you, God will let you have what you want. Now let me share some bad news with you, God will let you have what you want. Hopefully you don't fall in either of these categories! We all should be like Charles. Charles was a picture of the father (God) and Bob was a picture of the prodigal son and the older son.
Examine yourself today. If you were asked to play one of these two characters in this movie, which one would you best fit the part of? Are you like Charles(an analogy of God the Father), who is most thoughtful and considerate at all times, who offers grace and mercy no matter what someone is doing to them? Or, are you like Bob (an analogy of both the prodigal and older son) who only thinks of himself and what he wants and desires? Do you care what God wants for your life or do you only care about what you want? Do you wish God would just let you do what you want to do? He will but there will be a high price to pay.
I am not going to tell you how the movie ends exactly but I will say that there was a rescue and at the end Charles still had the edge. Don't you want "the edge" too? You can have it if you stay with God and don't chose wild living over the inheritance he has for you. Wild living will lead you to the pig pens of life. A life full of messy and smelly things that are hard to get out of. That kind of living will leave you empty and in need of grace and mercy. It is best to never leave the Father's house, however, if you have left and want to come home to be rescued, I can assure you his arms are open wide for you and he is just waiting to give you the grace and mercy that you need.
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16
Let me end with this. Charles continued to offer grace and mercy when he saw his wife again. He greeted her with open arms and instead of giving her a robe , a ring, sandals and a party, he presented her with a watch. That watch was a symbol of grace and mercy. It was a reminder to her that she didn't deserve his love and forgiveness but he was extending it to her anyway. You will have to watch the movie to know exactly why that watch would represent grace and mercy! Take some time today to watch this movie and see if you can figure out which character you might play best at this time. I can assure you, I want to be Charles not Bob or any of the other characters in this movie. Do you have the edge? Do you need the edge? Grace and mercy are the edge! You need to extend it to others and you need to ask God to extend it to you. Enjoy the movie!! It will inspire you, I promise!!
Dear Father God in heaven,
Thank you so much for your grace and mercy. I confess that at times I am jealous and greedy and I want to do things my way instead of yours. Have mercy on me Lord God and do not give me what I deserve. Give me your grace to help me and rescue me. Thank you that when I am "lost in the wilds" you are watching and waiting for me with open arms and ready to give me grace and mercy. Lord show me if there is any greed or jealousy or any other sin in my heart. Jesus I come boldly to the throne of grace and ask you for mercy and grace to help me in my time of need. Put a boundary of protection around me and help me Lord to want what you want for my life. In Jesus name, Amen.
