Debbie and I went to the cinema this last weekend with some of our family to see the long awaited and much anticipated fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. We knew that the cast had changed quite dramatically and that things would be different but the build up and hype suggested a film worthy of the wait.
We walked out of the cinema with mixed feelings; In my opinion Pirates 4 is a good film, it's better than OK but it isn't great! Johnny Depp is really good, the story works, the big screen magic stands up and overall it is a very decent film. But it missed the other characters like Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. In our eyes the build up and anticipation ended in a bit of an anticlimax - Sorry Captain Jack!
Today marks Ascension Day in the church calender which many of us will mark this Sunday; remembering the day that Jesus returned to his Father in Heaven. This was an event that Jesus foretold several times and His Disciples would have known was coming up. As Jesus ascended to Heaven to be restored to glory I wonder if the Disciples may have felt a little empty, like Jesus had gone away and left them behind.
They always knew that Jesus was heading towards the cross and He told them that He would rise again, but I wonder if they thought this moment would be the time to look forward to as a triumphant moment of victory. Instead they simply watched as Jesus rose into the sky and then was hidden from their view then they had to somehow find a way of carrying on, seemingly in their own strength,
I believe that Jesus, although gone from their view, had left them with so much - conversations, parables, teachings and demonstrations of His love, peace and majesty. Lessons that I think would have lived with them for the rest of their lives.
There are so many things that can have an effect on our lives; the people around us, day to day experiences, the media, our friends and families. All of these things can have an impact on us as we anticipate what lies ahead in our lives. But we get to choose how we use these experiences and how we learn from them and use these lessons in our own futures.
I know this is going to sound really cliche but the truth is - We get to choose today how we use the lessons of yesterday; as an anticlimax of disappointment or an opportunity tomorrow to grow and build!
Have a great day, God bless you
Chris
No comments:
Post a Comment