Iron Man

So, let's go ahead and say it. Iron Man is amazing! Desi and I saw it last night, and we both loved it. It was visually amazing and emotionally stirring movie.

We hear a lot these days about how you can find spirituality in movies. I won't say that Iron Man is a spiritual movie, but you do see these God given desires all throughout the movie. We see Tony Stark fighting for justice, and a desire for love with a woman. But the major theme of the movie is redemption. The whole reason Tony Stark creates his iron suit is to right all the wrongs in his life. Tony Stark owns a weapons manufacturing company, and he learns that his company has been selling weapons to terrorist groups without his knowing. So he vows to stop manufacturing weapons and destroy all the weapons that were sold to terrorist groups. He used to live a life of selfishness. But after being kidnapped by a terrorist group using his weapons, he decides it's time to save people rather than supply those who kill them.

His desire to redeem his bussines, personal life, and character is the fuel the he uses to help those he used to hurt. This is so similar to what we want with our own lives. We all know things that we have done wrong and people we have wronged. We all want to redeem ourselves and show everyone that we aren't who they once thought we were.

The problem is how we show that we have changed. So many times I try to show people I have changed by doing things in my own power. I try to show people that I care about people by serving at the soup kitchen. Or I try to show people that I don't lust by vocalizing my opposition to watching movies with nudity or sexual material. I try to prove myself by showing how "spiritual" I am. What's wrong with that? A whole lot.

When we do things to prove ourselves to other, what we are really saying is, "I can prove myself, because I fixed myself." You see the problem with that? We think we fix ourselves! The fact is that only God can fix us. But we see this desire to be fixed to be redeemed everywhere. From Tony Stark in Iron Man to "Fix You" by Coldplay. These are great examples of the human desire to be fixed. But they both tell us that we can fix ourselves. If we try hard enough or do enough, we can be fixed. The truth is that we are fixed by God. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

There it is. Just like that. Scripture, God's Word itself, tells us that we can't fix ourselves. Why? Because we're human! We can change our actions, but we can't change our spirit. We can change the outside, but something else has to take place to change the inside. That something is the Spirit of God. That's part of Ephesians 2:8 that says, "...it is the gift of God." Jesus sayed, before he ascended, that he would give us his spirit. That Spirit is what changes us, redeems us, fixes us.

So our responsiblity, as folowers of Christ, is to recognize that people want to be fixedand to show them the way to be fixed. We know people want to fix their lives, Iron Man, "Fix You," My name is Earl. Now we just have to help them find the One who can do the fixing.