Ensign: The Movie You Will Never See

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3

AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS                                           18 November 2016


WORD COUNT: 27,063


Speak for yourself, John Malkovich! I'll only be 143 when this comes out!

This year at the Cannes Film Festival among the films shown there was this little number, which wasn't shown. Written by the above-named actor and directed by Robert Rodriguez, there are several ninety-second trailers online that really don't tell you much about the movie, and the film itself will be unavailable to view until today, ninety-nine years from now. One wonders indeed where 100 Years: The Movie You Will Never See is even the title you will (or would; apparently a thousand tickets have gone out and the ticket holders' descendants will be able to go) see in the opening credits.


Right now the only copy of this movie sits in a time-locked vault in Cognac, southwest France. Personally, I think if I do live to see it released, I will have a lot of other things to do (and will likely have done some of them). Really, I'm not delusional enough to think I'll live in this body I've got another century. But all of us, even the most depraved of us, want a part of us and what we've done in life to live on after us. It's part of the reason you may notice I focus a lot on what I write and why I do it -- I like to think that in forty-four years of life I've learned something that matters.

"For many are called, but few are chosen." The conclusion to Jesus' parable of the wedding feast (Matthew 22:1-14) tells us two things: it doesn't matter what we have learned and what we know, but Who is the One calling us. So you could argue, unlike some of my colleagues do, that it's not who -- or Who -- we know either, it's that we are the ones who respond to Christ's calling. To enter the mission field, to touch an otherwise scarred life, to be the one who welcomes the prodigal home. It's Jesus doing the knocking on the door, not me.

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." I especially enjoy the part of John 15:16 from Jesus' Passover with His disciples (popularly called the Last Supper, but that misses something I think) where we're told our fruit -- that is, the spiritual fruit we bear presenting the Good News of Jesus Christ through our words and lives -- will highly likely outlive us.
The question here is what kind of fruit do we want to bear? For this passage almost seems in defiance of what we know of agriculture -- physical fruits left on a tree tend to rot, and there's no way they will be picked unless they're at least appealing to the picker at the time they see it. But if they remain, if they continue, if they nourish, the fruit will continue to be picked and nourished by the vine, by Jesus Himself. ("I am the vine, ye the branches" from verse five.)


With Our Father The Husbandman. Head back to the beginning of John 15 and see with me. Because God is there to take away the branches that don't bear fruit (note He doesn't say "or bear bad fruit" ... bad fruit sometimes comes from even the best branches) and there to purge (translate that "prune") the branches that do bear fruit, we the branches have the potential to bear more. It seems enough people have done so to keep the church going these last 2,000 years.


But it's never enough. To be one generation away from extinction -- did Tertullian or Billy Graham say this? Either sound good! -- as the church, the body of believers in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, is referred to being can never come from standing still. And as much as you may adore or despise the creations of our culture, the fact is we can make nothing just appear. We have to strive, we have to go on, and have the grace ... to accept God's grace when we fall and get back up.


Whether others see our movie or not,

David

P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with you, and I hope it encourages us too! If it's not or you want me to get lost, please let me know. Thank you!

Thank YOU, Lord, that we can come to You in prayer and that we can count on You to provide for all our needs, even when we don't known what they are. And let us come to You in prayer for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence and all over the world.


Thank You as well, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You by Your Son Our Brother, Jesus Christ.


And I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.