I’ve heard of the books and films under such titles as The Gospel According to Star Wars…Harry Potter…Garfield…etc. I’ve never read or watched any of them, probably due to my desire to better understand the gospel as represented in scripture before checking it with outside sources. Having never actually divulged in one of these gospel explanations, I can, at times, see how such films portray the gospel of our LORD, Jesus Christ.
Last night, I was watching “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” with my wife, Shadia. If you are familiar with the film, there is a scene in which Harry has completed the Tri-Wizard Tournament’s last task and has been transported to a graveyard, where his friend is quickly killed by the villain Lord Voldemort’s sniveling servant Peter Pettigrew. Voldemort gives the instruction, “Kill the spare.” He casts the friend aside as meaningless, not just as meaningless to his sinister cause but completely disregarding the value of his life at all.
We find ourselves in the climax of the adventure as Harry and Voldemort find themselves at a stalemate. Of course, Harry, our protagonist, escapes the hands of the wicked Lord Voldemort but only just. Upon his return, the fall of the drama strikes. Only moments after returning to the stadium of our tournament, the crowd starts in uproar to celebrate the completion of the tournament…until the crowd sees that one of the competitors is dead. As eyes open in shock and heads lower in sadness, the father of the murdered son runs out of the stands and falls before the body of his son, crying out, “That’s my boy! That’s my son!” Moments follow filled with subtle tears and whimpers in the crowd, overpowered and drowned out by the guttural roaring cries of the father.
It is at this point that I see the gospel story “finished”. As Christ says this word, the Father accepts his Son’s spirit, and I can only imagine the unbearable, unequaled sadness that our Heavenly Father felt at the sight of his Son. This sadness is difficult to witness, and I found myself barely able to keep from crying at this scene and the thoughts of Jesus’ sacrifice that streamed through my mind, piercing my heart.
What a sacrifice to make! To give one’s only son for another. My parents have told me that to watch their child die would be the world’s greatest pain. Therefore, only through understanding God’s love for me can I comprehend why anyone would willingly give up the life of His Son.
So I am eternally grateful! I am grateful to a God who would go through the saddest moment in history with the intent to forgive me, unworthy of such love. I can never understand exactly why he did, but thank God he did!
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