Warfare in movies

Rambo, Avatar-both movies deal with war. People have a purpose; they spare nothing for accomplishing the mission - on both sides. Is that mission, that all-consuming purpose still alive in our time? What purpose could there be in living in peacetime, other than surviving and getting the most stuff we can? This question belies an incredibly great blindness as to the war occurring constantly all around us - the battle for men's souls and the kingdom of God. If we are called to deploy in that battle, what are we doing worrying about how much we can spend on the next TV? Is TV worth our time? Or is it a waste of time? Do you not see the need? Do I not see the need for vigilance, for service, for sacrifice? Why? To accomplish the mission. To see the gospel spread, then lived throughout the entire earth. In wartime, people give to the cause, worry and pray for those on the front line, feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves. What could be bigger or grander or more worth sacrifice than the cause of Christ, the Son of God, who sacrificed comfort of an unimaginable kind to fight for us? That is why war movies attract us - the sense of serving something greater and more important than ourselves.

Rambo was an individual warrior coming to terms with why he fought. At first, it seems mindless. His actions in the first movie are insane, yet he fights those who can't see the importance of warfare, who mock and abuse him. Later, he comes to understand the true reason for fighting - the kingdom of God. In Avatar, Jake has no reason for living. He can't even walk. Yet in warfare, he comes alive and must overcome obstacles of a life-threatening nature. It is exhilarating. It gives his life meaning.

What fight do you have? Is it for the kingdom? Will you endure? Will you win? If you abide in Christ, then His life will abide in you, and you cannot help but overcome, even if it means death.