Article link: 9 Movie Moments of Unmerited Grace, by Brett McCracken
“Movies, and stories generally, are structured as they are for a reason. Conflict builds, obstacles intensify, the downward spiral accelerates until the protagonist reaches bottom. There is seemingly no way out. No hope. But then, the turn.
“It usually happens in the film’s third act, sometimes in the final moments. The tension climaxes to an unbearable degree, and then catharsis: despair and darkness suddenly met with a glimmer of hope. A rescuer arrives: unexpected, unearned salvation from out of nowhere. In a land of deep darkness, a light dawns (Isa. 9:2). Sound familiar?
“Stories can’t help but gravitate toward such climaxes. Why? Because this is the plot of The Greatest Story. This is the “turn” that compels us so universally: a rescuer who saves us because we can’t save ourselves, who plucks us out of the pit of death and gives us new life; a savior with the power to deliver us “from the domain of darkness” (Col. 1:13) and “from this body of death” (Rom. 7:24).
“Our bodies tense, a lump rises in our throat, the tears well in our eyes when we watch these scenes in movies. We know this is us too. These scenes, even if they don’t depict Jesus explicitly, often remind us of the beauty, the heroism, the unearned gift of our divine Rescuer.”
