Arming The Saints Blog

Denise and I are in Connecticut — I have to talk to the Governor, of all people, about my day job. Can you imagine? Life is certainly interesting.

While we were in the hotel, we watched the movie “Unbroken” on HBO. It tells the real-life struggle of Louis Zamperini, an olympic athlete who gets shot down over the ocean, survives sharks and Japanese strafing for weeks on a raft, only to be captured and tortured by a sadistic Japanese prison guard.

The movie was great, but one reviewer in particular pointed out what was probably most lacking in the finished product. Lena Cruz, in her review in the Atlantic, wrote that even though the story was true to Zamperini’s  ordeals during the war, it left out “the real story” from the book, which was his post-war PTSD, alcoholism, and ultimate turn to Christianity and forgiveness of those who abused him.

Once again, the real story is not human suffering, or even resilience in the world. We have plenty of that. The real story is how that suffering can be overcome most completely by Jesus Christ, leading to a life of forgiveness, and, ultimately, redemption. It’s the story of Jesus himself, who suffered more than anyone, and who, through his forgiveness, allows us to partake in that redemption.

God bless you all,

Tim and Denise