Travelin' Through

disclaimer: I do not support peeing on the side of the road. I do not support skinny dipping. I do not support nudity in films.I do not support the transgender lifestyle. I do not think it is what God designed as His best. I am not in support of male prostitution or running away from home as a teenager. However I believe we live in a fallen world that is filled with sin and misery and as a result many people have to suffer through tragedies that deeply sadden the heart of God.

With that said...I was impacted GREATLY this week by watching the movie "Transamerica". It was profound and a life changing film. I believe all Christians SHOULD watch this movie. Although many might not WANT to, or might find some of the content offensive, I believe this is a dialogue we as Christians NEED to enter.

This movie is not a political statement on transgender issues. This movie is not about approving or dissaproving of the lifestyle of a transgender person. This is the movie of one person's story. And it is a movie of their story colliding with the story of another person. This is a movie about two broken people, that the world has failed, and them finding each other, struggling along the way and finding redemption in the midst of a lot of pain and tragedy. This movie is about the Human Story. It is about the greater Redemption story. It is about Jesus who suffered and died to bring new life to the broken.

In the movie the two characters stuggle with the thought of God's redemptive work in their lives. They acknowledge their weakness and need for something greater. They find mercy offered into their lives through the love and care of God's creation.

My only wish was that there would have been a greater emphasis on God transforming their hearts rather than a more promenant understanding that "they did it on their own". Their lives were changed and bettered because they had each other. - Which was true...but let's answer the "why" question.

By the end of the film the two characters are growing in love and respect toward one another. In no way do they have it "all figured out", but they are committed to struggling through life together. It is a vision of community, albeit totally flawed...but a beautiful potrayal of redemption working itself out in the lives of two broken people.

As a Christian watching this movie, I was convicted. How often I judge people from the sideline for where they are and how they act ...all the while failing to enter the conversation; listen to their journey and see the beauty of redemtion being played out in their lives. God is working to change hearts. So often those "who have ears to hear" are unwilling to enter the dialogue to help point people in the right direction, and help them see Jesus as the true Mercy-Giver. We as Christians have been given the great and high calling of showing love to the world (and it's not a pretty packaged world) and introducing the world to Him who is LOVE. So why are we so full of judgement?

I recomend watching this movie. Watch it with an open mind, watch it with an open heart and listen to how God might use this movie to convict your heart as well. (And if you hated it - just leave a comment and let me know. But be a part of the conversation.)

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/83300/dolly_parton_travelin_thru/

This is the link to Dolly Parton singing her theme song for the movie at the Academy Awards. It is powerful and the lyrics are poignant. At the end it is almost like she is leading Hollywood in a worship song. In many ways that is the closest some of those people have come to Jesus. She says, "I'm not here to judge you, I'm just travelin' through." Kinda brings to mind Luke 5:31-32:

31Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

We could all be changed by this passage and this song, if we really lived it. This is the life of authenticity. This is the life of someone who's broken life has been transformed by LOVE. This is the life of someone who truely is "proud to be a Christian" (inside joke for those who have seen the movie):

Oooh,OOh,Oooh-ooh,Oh,Oh,Oh,Oh-oh-oh-oh.

Well, I can't tell you where I'm going I'm not sure of where I've been.
But I know I must keep travelin till my road comes to an end.
I'm out here on my journey trying to make the most of it.
I'm a puzzle I must figure out where all my pieces fit.

(Chorus)
Like a poor wayfairing stranger that they speak about in song.
I'm just a weary pilgrim. Trying to find what feels like home.
Well,that is no one can tell me am I doomed to ever roam.
I'm just travelin travelin travelin i'm just travelin on.

Questions I have many,ansewers but a few.
We're here to learn the spirit burns to learn the greater truth.
We've all been crusified and they nailed Jesus to the tree.
And when I'm born again your gonna see a change in me.

God made me for a reason and nothing is in vain,
Redemption comes in many shapes with many kinds of pain.
Oh,sweet Jesus if you're out there keep me ever close to you.
As I'm stumbling tumbling as I'm traveling through.

I'm just traveling traveling traveling. I'm just traveling through ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh.
I'm just traveling traveling I'm just traveling through ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh.

Oh sometimes the road gets rugged and it's hard to travel on.
But holding to each other.We don't have to work alone.
When everything is broken we can mend if we try.
We can make a world of difference If we want to we can fly.

Good-bye you little children, Good-night you handsome men,
Farewell to all you ladies and to all who knew me when.
And I hope i'll see ya down the road, you meant more than I knew,
As I'm travelin travelin travelin travelin travelin through.

Drifting like a floating boat and roaming like the wind,
Oh give me some direction, Lord, let me lean on you as I'm travelin travelin through.

Like the poor wayfaring stranger that they speak about in song
I'm just like a weary pilgrim tryin to find my own way home.
Oh sweet Jesus if your out there, keep me ever close to you
As I'm travelin travelin travelin, as I'm travelin' through