I love movies. And Slumdog Millionaire is a good movie. Here's my take on Slumdog.
The Kiss
Jamal and Latika finally kiss at the end of the movie. Jamal "never gives up" in his chase for Latika. When he finally kisses her, it's not first on her lips, but on her scar. This a beautiful kiss. By kissing her on her scar, he sends the message that he loves her in spite of her past. He loves and accepts her unconditionally even though she has been an abused sex slave for many years.
If she had not undergone such a horrible past, that kiss would still be beautiful, but less beautiful. It is precisely because he loves her despite her past that makes his kiss so much more beautiful. And this is a kind of beauty that we all universally long for deep in our souls.
That kiss brought me great joy because it reminded me of Christ's love for me. I know the analogy is not perfect, but my point is that just as Jamal chased and loved Latika in spite of her past, so I know that my Jesus chases and loves me in spite of my past. He beautifully kisses my scars and clothes me with his unconditional love.
It is written.
The movie begins and ends with one question. And the answer to that question is, "It is written".
Their lives are written in two senses. In the first sense, their lives are written because this is a movie. Movies don't just appear out of thin air. Someone has to write the plot, which includes the happenings of the lives of the people in the movie. In the second sense, the movie's answer transcends the bounds of the movie to make the point that our lives too are written. And if the lives of the people in the movie are written by an author, so too must our lives be written by an author.
I do believe such an author exists, and I believe his name is Jesus Christ, the maker of all things. And as the author, he writes himself into the story, to kiss us beautifully through his death as the means of redeeming for himself a beautiful bride.
The Kiss
Jamal and Latika finally kiss at the end of the movie. Jamal "never gives up" in his chase for Latika. When he finally kisses her, it's not first on her lips, but on her scar. This a beautiful kiss. By kissing her on her scar, he sends the message that he loves her in spite of her past. He loves and accepts her unconditionally even though she has been an abused sex slave for many years.
If she had not undergone such a horrible past, that kiss would still be beautiful, but less beautiful. It is precisely because he loves her despite her past that makes his kiss so much more beautiful. And this is a kind of beauty that we all universally long for deep in our souls.
That kiss brought me great joy because it reminded me of Christ's love for me. I know the analogy is not perfect, but my point is that just as Jamal chased and loved Latika in spite of her past, so I know that my Jesus chases and loves me in spite of my past. He beautifully kisses my scars and clothes me with his unconditional love.
It is written.
The movie begins and ends with one question. And the answer to that question is, "It is written".
Their lives are written in two senses. In the first sense, their lives are written because this is a movie. Movies don't just appear out of thin air. Someone has to write the plot, which includes the happenings of the lives of the people in the movie. In the second sense, the movie's answer transcends the bounds of the movie to make the point that our lives too are written. And if the lives of the people in the movie are written by an author, so too must our lives be written by an author.
I do believe such an author exists, and I believe his name is Jesus Christ, the maker of all things. And as the author, he writes himself into the story, to kiss us beautifully through his death as the means of redeeming for himself a beautiful bride.
