The movie begins with Mac, who is washing his car and trying to encourage his son to ride his bike without training wheels while his wife and an infant look on. In an instant, he loses his son in a tragic accident as the result of an African-American drug dealer running from the police. Then we flash forward 18 years, and you see Mac as a police officer. He is a man who is haunted by his past. The loss of his son and blaming himself for it are displayed through anger, frustration and racism. His foundation has been shaken and his faith is lost.
He and his son do not get along. He and his wife are on the verge of a divorce. To top it all off, he gets assigned an African-American partner who just got promoted who has a happy family life and pastors his own church. It could not be any worse. His newly assigned partner, Sam, is able to pick up on Mac's animosity and prejudice. This in turn makes him question himself, especially after he gives a sermon about it that is not well received.
That is where I will stop telling about the movie so that I do not spoil it for you. What I will say is that grace plays a prominent part in the movie. I guess that the title gives that away! It is a story of how us giving to others the grace that was so undeservedly and graciously given to us allows us to engage in positive relationships with people that hate us and to overcome hate.
The story gets to the hardest part of our faith. We are told that we are to love our enemies. Matthew 5:43-48 states,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."We are also told that we are to forgive others. In Matthew Chapter 18, Jesus says that we are to forgive not 7 times, but 7 x 70 times. That means that our forgiveness comes not from our limitations, but by grace. I am not able to forgive easily. When I was younger I would hold grudges to the point of not remembering why I did not like somebody. I just did not like them. I would tell people that, "If you hurt me, I could forgive but never forget. If you hurt one of my friends, I could forget but never forgive." I took pride in that statement! How sad is that. I walked around angry, hurt and bitter.
That is what not forgiving somebody does. It is said that holding a resentment is like drinking poison to kill somebody else. You only hurt yourself. As Christians we are asked to show others the unconditional grace that has been shown to us. Brandon Heath in his song "I'm Not Who I Was" says, "The thing I find most amazing, in amazing grace. Is the chance to give it out, maybe that's what love is all about." How true that is.
Giving other's grace is liberating! I am no longer trapped by rage. Resentments and grudges cause a lot of anxiety and a ton of energy. It is actually healthy for us physiologically and psychologically to forgive others. It is also Biblically mandated, and the hardest part of our commission to fulfill.
Do you remember the 5 Amish girls who were shot dead in Pennsylvania in 2006? The day after the shooting the parents of the dead girls, in fact the whole Amish community that suffered the loss, came forward and embraced the family of the shooter. They told the family that they forgave him. Over half of those in attendance at the shooter's funeral were Amish. They gave a portion of the money that came from around the world to the widow and child of the shooter.
People thought that the Amish were insane at the time. They did not understand how anyone could forgive that kind of act. Do you want to know how they did it? It was simply good Christian behavior. The Amish have this "grace thing" right. It is sad that so many were surprised to see people forgiving like the Amish did in this situation. It shows that as Christians we have a long way to go to overcome the bad reputation that we have gotten. We need to take notes from both the Amish and this movie. We need to incorporate grace into our daily lives.
Instead of being a Sunday Christian, we are to be Christians 24/7. One of my favorite things said in the movie was that Church is only the locker room. It is where we hear the pep talk. Monday - Saturday is game time. Most Christians have it backwards. Sunday is not the day to act as a Christian. It is the day to learn how to act the rest of the week. We want to rest on the laurels of faith, but that will never be enough.
I will end this blog with the words of James, as he reminds us that faith is not enough (even the demons have faith in who Christ is and that there is only one God) in James 2:17-24,
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
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