Recently, I watched a movie that reminded me of how precious Christ’s salvation is to me. In it, a group of people were tempted to enter a vast jungle and promptly became lost. They kept going in circles when they tried to escape. A few died while the rest continued to search for the exit. There is a black stone in the middle of the jungle. Some believed that touching the stone would give them the power to know the maze's secrets. On the contrary, touching the stone triggers intense desires and makes the person terrifying, to the point of murdering others.
This movie is like a metaphor for our lives. Being trapped in a maze, unwittingly going around in circles, frantically but fruitlessly looking for a way out. Life is like an endless cycle, the lost thinking they have found the truth when they touch the black stone.
The movie also parallels events in the bible. Adam and Eve thought that by eating the forbidden fruit, they could be like God, knowing good and evil; that they could be independent and not rely on God. Humanity can judge for itself good and evil, right and wrong. Mankind wants to be the judge of the world. Then we can control the world, rule and judge the world based on our own standards.
But the bible tells us that in the Garden of Eden, there were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told them that they needed the fruit of the tree of life, but not the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In particular, they cannot rely on their own standards rather than God’s, to judge right and wrong like God. Once we use our own methods and standards to judge right and wrong, good and evil, true and false, then we will create conflict, separation, and division with other people and God. Only love and life can bring unity.
In the movie, those who touched the black stone developed desires, ambitions, and covetousness for things that didn’t belong to them. We might think we know what we need or want. However, greed and ambition have already sprouted in our hearts and sin shortly follows.
The tall and lush forest in the movie seems to represent the Garden of Eden. Everything was good in the beginning but then desires transformed it into an endless maze, leaving only endless cycles of destruction. Then the key question is how to break through these cycles. In the story, one person decided to sacrifice himself and send a young child to tell others not to enter the forest. He left a necklace with a red pendant as a sign. Those who were going to enter have to decide if they believe the young child’s message. If they believe, then they are saved. In the end, two people heard the message, saw the pendant and believed in the child’s words and were saved. If no one sacrificed themselves, then no one could have escaped the endless destruction by themselves.
This whole story is about Jesus Christ. In this fallen world, the only fate for humans is destruction. Without God’s grace, no one could have saved themselves, and everyone would perish. But Christ came to this fallen world. He willingly sacrificed Himself to give mankind a way out of the destruction. The question is, will people believe in this path? Each person’s decision will determine if they will be destroyed or saved, and no one else can make that decision. But God has not given up reminding us, but repeatedly, by His grace, tries to rescue us from the brink of destruction.
We who are already Christians can be like the child, using our limited words to tell others of the gospel. We cannot decide for others if they believe or not. But those who believe in the Cross of Christ, like the pendant, with a simple faith will receive an incredible salvation.
This movie, even though not explicitly Christian, conveys many Christian themes. We can receive many hints and signs that point us to the marvellous and magnificent salvation of God in our everyday lives.
最近看了一部電影，提醒了我對基督拯救我們的珍惜。這電影，是講說有關有幾個人，因為被誘惑，進入了一個巨大的叢林中，迷失了方向。他們不斷尋找叢林的出口，但只是不斷在繞圈子。有些人，更是因此而喪命，有些人，便繼續不斷的尋找出口。
而且，在叢林中央，有一塊黑石頭，人以為摸到石頭，便會有能力知道迷宮的真相。但相反，當人碰到石頭後，他們會產生慾望，便變得更加可怕，甚至想殺死其他在叢林裡的人。
看到這電影，好像就是比喻我們的人生，就是在迷宮中，不斷的循環，我們在努力找出路，但始終找不到。人生便是個無限的循環。迷失的人，以為摸了黑石頭，便以為知道真相。
這電影，跟聖經裡的事件很類似，亞當，夏娃，吃了分辨善惡果子，他們以為，從此便可以如神一樣，能夠自己分辨善惡，自己能夠作主，可以不再依靠神，他可以從神中脫離出來。人類可以靠自己，可以分辨善惡，對錯，是非。人成為世界的審判者。我們從此，便以為，有了能操控一切的能力，人以為自己，可以以我們自己所定的對錯，來統治世界。
但聖經說，伊甸園中，有生命樹，有分辨善惡樹，神告訴人，人需要的是生命樹上的果子，而不是分辨善惡樹的果子，特別，人不可以靠自己，在沒有神的標準下，自己成為神，分辨善惡。我們一旦用自己的方法，來分辨對錯，善惡，是非，我們便會與人，與神產生矛盾，隔離，分割。但相反，只有愛，生命，才是融合。
劇中的人，摸了黑石，便會有慾望，有了野心，想得到不屬於自己的東西。人以為自己懂得我們需要什麼，或想要什麼。但其實，野心已經在我們心裡萌芽，這是罪惡的開始。
在戲裡，高大綠色的草叢，好像代表伊甸園，一切都是好的，但因為慾望，這園子，便成為沒有出路的迷宮，剩下，只有不停的循環，和滅亡。如何打破無限滅亡循環，成為一個重要的問題。在劇裡，其中一個人，決定要犧牲自己，而且讓一個小孩告訴其他人，不要進入園子裡。他留下一個項鍊，紅色的項鍊牌作為提示。但快要進園的人，他們要決定，是否相信這孩子說的話，如果相信，便會得到救贖。結果，有兩個人，聽到，看到項鍊牌，他們相信了孩童說的話，他們得到了拯救。如果沒有人犧牲，人是沒有辦法靠自己，打破無限滅亡的循環。
整個故事，就是耶穌基督，為了拯救人類的困局，在失落的世界中，惟一的結局，只有滅亡。如果沒有神的恩典，人不可能在迷宮中自救，最後，人只有在當中滅亡。但基督來到失落的世界，衪願意犧牲自己，為人舖設了一條出路，使人不致滅亡。但問題是，人願意相信這條道路嗎？人的選擇，決定了自己的滅亡與否，沒有人能代替我們的選擇，但神沒有放棄提醒我們，衪不斷用衪的恩典，來挽回我們，從滅亡的邊緣，被拯救回來。
而已經信主的基督徒，我們便如那小孩，只能用我們有限的言語，告訴別人，是否相信我們這些小孩話，取決於他們的相信與否，我們也不能為別人做決定。但願意以單純的信心，去相信那項鍊牌，好像是基督的十字架，這些人，可以得到意想不到的拯救。
這電影，雖然不是基督教電影，但卻充滿了基督教的意味。在日常生活中，我們可能都能在生活中，體會到信仰的提示，讓我們更明白，上帝奇妙而偉大的救贖。
