How to Share Your Faith Using War of the Worlds
Another alien invasion? War of the Worlds , the best selling book that became a history making radio broadcast, then a major motion picture, has pushed the envelope again as...another motion picture?
With Steven Spielberg directing, you know this movie has to be full of dramatic scenes and amazing special effects (which it is). With Tom Cruise in the lead role you know it has to be packed with action and intense challenges (again, it doesn't disappoint). This Spielberg adaptation focuses on one man's struggle to keep himself and his family alive through a nightmarish holocaust of Biblical proportions. Unlike the common method of Hollywood story-telling, the special effects (while fantastic) are reigned in. This movie is less about effects, less about showing you a story, and more about making you feel the story. So much so that you leave the theater feeling weary, almost as if you walked those miles in the shoes of Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise).
As the film begins to roll we are introduced to Ray, a selfish divorcee who has just been given his children for a weekend visitation. Robbie, his teenage son (played by Justin Chatwin), is rebellious and angry; his ten-year-old daughter (Dakota Fanning) is world-weary before her time. There is plenty of evidence of Ray's self-centered existence (he's late meeting his kids, hasn't cleaned the house for them, and expects them to still share a room), but in case you miss those clues the son spells it out for us in a tension-filled scene. It seems the wedge driven between Ray and Robbie can never be removed.
Once the aliens begin their brutal attack, Ray grabs his kids and begins to run. He pushes the family hard in hopes of staying ahead of danger. At several points along the way the son shows what he's made of - pure metal. Not satisfied with running, he wants to make a stand, or join the military - anything but take another step away from danger. Each time, Ray interprets his son's actions as hotheaded, rather than courageous. Until, in a desperate situation, he witnesses Robbie striving to save the lives of others. It's this selfless act of courage that strikes at Ray's heart, and he is never the same again.
The alien onslaught is terrifyingly real (a tough sell for a movie, but this one pulls it off). It's easy to understand Ray's initial reaction to run - we all want to save ourselves - but in trying to save himself he finds increasing danger and increasing hopelessness. Each step leads him closer to ultimate despair, until the moment he makes a choice to endanger his own life to save his daughter's. In doing so he finds a new hope in a land where rivers flow with human blood. He discovers that by being willing to lose his life, he finds a new life. He "grows up" into the image of his only son and finds courage, hope, and a new way to live .
As you talk to your friends about this movie, you might have opportunities to point out the hopelessness of life without God. In Ecclesiastes 1:1-10, the Bible talks about how everyone is born with a hole in their soul" that only God can fill. People may try to fill it with power, pursuits, and pleasure, but in the end it only makes us feel worse.
As well, everything that means so much to us today means nothing when we die (Matthew 16:24-26). One day everything we have will be gone- as the old saying goes: "you don't ever see a funeral car pulling a u-haul trailer!" The key to life, real life, is in dying to our selfishness and instead surrendering our life to Jesus (Matthew 10.39). He is the only one capable of leading us through the terrifying realities of life, the times of hopelessness and black despair. Only Jesus can take our life and truly make us live! Instead of being a crutch, Jesus actually empowers us to stand up under everything life drops on us. Just like Ray, the more self-less we become, the more of ourselves we give to Jesus, the more we find courage, hope, and a new way to live.
When the book War of the Worlds was first written in 1898, the fear of the day was that the Germans would take over the world. In 1956 when the original War of the Worlds movie was released, it was the evils of communism that was in view. In today's version, it is terrorism that haunts the audience (which several characters ask about when the initial alien attack begins.). It is natural for people to have new fears in each age and it's natural for you and your friends to discuss how to live confidently in an uncertain world. Jesus tells us, however, not to fear anything that can destroy only the body, but to fear Him who can destroy both body and soul (Matthew 10.28). After a good fright in the theaters, perhaps your friends will be more open to a discussion about the even more frightening concept of meeting God unprepared. For unlike an alien invasion, Jesus' return will really happen. The Bible tells us that Jesus' return is definitely going to happen, and when it does it will make "The War of the Worlds" seem like a walk in the park! Click here to read about this event.
Bottom line: this movie vividly connects people with important topics like the shortness of life and the end of the world. What an awesome opportunity to turn just another alien movie into a life changing experience!
