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Snakes on a Plane and Jesus on the Way

Get the discussion questions for Snakes on a Plane and Jesus on the Way

Here's my props to movie directors who unyieldingly refuse to waste even a second or two trying to come up with an imaginative title.

Today we salute you, Mr. Thuddingly Obvious Movie Title Inventor.
(Mr. Thuddingly Obvious Movie Title Inventor)

You've taken away any possibility of imagining what the movie is about.
(I can't even imagine!)

Pushing creativity and innovation right off a cliff, you offer amazingly self-evident film names like "Dude, Where's My Car?" and "Snakes on a Plane!"
(Snakes on a Plane!)

So keep torturing us with your ability to give away everything in two seconds...because unplugging our brains is what movie going is all about.
(Mr. Thuddingly Obvious Movie Title Inventor)

By the way, have you ever thought about what title you would give to a movie about life? Really. I mean, would you go complicated with something like "Existence: A Post-Modern Look at the Nature of Reality" (snore) - or would you try something a little more creative like: "How MySpace and YouTube may bring about the End of Civilization"?

Me? I'd go with this:

Life = Pain

Props to me - Mr. Thuddingly Obvious Movie Title Inventor!

But c'mon, you have to agree that it's accurate, right? Life is painful. There is hurt and unhappiness and loss and death nearly everywhere you turn. Any true movie about life would have to include a plotline about heartache and heartbreak. That's the film that we're in, folks, and the question is: how do you think it will end? This is an important question, because how you view the end of this film called life has a huge impact on the way you act out your part in this grand flick.

For example, if you picture the end of the world as a cataclysmic "oh bummer" event (like the mother of all asteroids slamming into planet earth) you probably find it hard to look forward to anything, right? And how do you prepare for the future? Duck and cover?

Or if you predict a global warming disaster that will eventually make the earth feel like a deep fryer at McDonalds, then yeah, you'll most likely paint yourself into a fairly negative worldview corner.

Fortunately, you have another option...and this one isn't based on random mathematical predictions or debatable scientific models. This one is based on the very words of God... you know, the one who has already seen the end of the movie.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Here's what The Apostle Paul wrote to a group of people who were playing lead roles in the Life = Pain movie:

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

The original readers of this paragraph were being persecuted and killed for being Christians, and they were probably asking the question: "How does all this end?" Paul answers the question by explaining the end of the film - which could be called "The Return of Christ." Paul paints the dramatic and climactic end to human history where Jesus Himself appears before all the world, and in the blink of an eye we meet Him in the air. After that, we have some of the most exciting words in all of the Bible...we get to "remain with Him forever"!

In other words, the end of the world as we know it is just the beginning of the eternity we don't know. Yet.

So how should this truth impact our lives? Easy - Paul tells us in plain terms:

So comfort and encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:18)

No worries about big, scary rocks or the earth in a microwave. In fact, no worries about anything. Because, plain and simple, God has it all under control. Comfort comes from knowing that death is not the end, and encouragement comes from knowing we get to be with Jesus forever in heaven!

By the way, the end of the movie is coming soon. So now's not a good time to space out or check out of your Christian life, because when it comes to this film, you don't want a surprise ending.

I leave you with one more thuddingly obvious title:

Life = Pain...but, The Return of Christ = The Hope of Christians

Head: What you need to know about this truth

As Christians, we can find comfort and encouragement in the fact that one day Christ will return and take us to heaven.

Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

This is a comforting and encouraging truth, so you should feel, well, comforted and encouraged. If you're having trouble finding any hope in this life, you don't need to look any further than the end of human history, which is coming soon to an existence near you!

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

Look to the sky! Seriously, next time you look up, remember the promise Paul gives that any day could be the day that Jesus comes back. And as you look up, look in - as in, inside yourself for actions, attitudes, words and habits that you wouldn't want Christ to catch you in...because if you're not careful, He just might!