Grand Torino

Today I had the day off and watched the movie Grand Torino.

As I watched the movie (which is Rated R) I began to draw a spiritual lesson from it. I did not start out my day to come up with a sermon illustration or devotion point....but there It was.

It is the story of an old soldier (Walt), who hates what his world has become. He is grumpy. He is a bigot. He is a widower. He is basically pissed at how things have become.

He is pursued by people who care for him before he cares for them. His priest goes after him non stop. His neighbors who are Hmongs go after him. They reach out to him to care for him. He does everything he can to offend his priest and his Hmong neighbors.

He sees his Hmong neighbors being hurt. Walt gets his rifle he carried in the Korean War and stands up for them. He begins to have a crack in that hard exterior and starts to care for them in his own way. As the story goes on his new found friends are hurt further. They are unable to stand up for them selves.

Walt decides he must stand in the gap for those who can not defend themselves. He goes to his priest who has never given up on him and seeks comfort. Walt then goes and gives his life to protect the weak.

St. James wrote that pure religion in the sight of God is to defend those who can not defend themselves (my paraphrase).

I think as Christ followers we have to be the people that pursue the Walt's in our lives. We also need to be the Walt's who lay down their lives to help those who can not help them selves.