Romans 8:22 "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."(NIV)
Today I watched the movie, The Road. I've been looking forward to it since reading the book some months ago. The book, a Pulizer Prize winning story by Cormic McCarthy, was so powerful and affecting (to me) that I had to put it down and come back to it several times. It was one of those books that "stays with you" long after you have walked back into everyday life. It wasn't just the characters that stayed with me, it was the intense feeling of hopelessness, horror and the power of love, a father's love for his son. I felt shell-shocked by it and the movie was close to the same.
As I've gone about my day, I slowly came through this fog that had settled on me and remembered Romans 8:22 about the way creation itself groans - strains for redemption and to be returned to its eternal, original state. We, too, long to be reconciled with our Father as Adam and Eve before the fall of mankind. As a writer, I am once again reminded to get my mind off the small things like sales numbers and successful reviews, commercial vs. literary and all the crazy thoughts that take up too much of my mind and heart. Stories that show the groaning, the straining to be relationaly one, rooted and grounded, grafted in to our Savior and thus our Father/Creator, those will be universal in theme and reach down into any heart with a ring of authenticity that anyone can relate to on this side of heaven.
There is so much hurt in the world, so much pain and suffering and longing but praise God He gives us those firsts fruits (the Holy Spirit) even in such a fallen place as this. May our writing reflect His love and hope, His beauty and wonder, the knowledge that we can be reconciled and made complete in a groaning world.
I read The Road and saw the movie too. As you said, very powerful, very impacting. I'm trying to think through on why--and how we can do the same with our stories. Definitely the emotions raised. And how they bear out a powerful theme (hope and despair). These strike at the heart of many of our fears--is there meaning to life, who's in control (is Anyone?), are there moral absolutes (defining the "good guys"), etc. McCarthy's answer, if you can call it that, is not Christian, but it's impacting because, again, it strikes at the heart of our most basic need--love. I think the fact that the setting is so horrid might be what successfully takes this story beyond what emotion and theme alone could achieve. Maybe the contrast of horrid setting versus beauty of human love? What's outside us versus what's inside us? So many elements masterfully woven together. Wow!
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