THE COUNTING OF DAYS
This month I have been counting the omer; patiently waiting until the Day of Pentecost arrives.
As I’ve begun this process of counting the days, since the 2nd Day of Unleavened Bread, on the third day after Passover and on The Day of Early First Fruits, I’ve also been studying the attributes of God’s character; hoping to learn things that will help me, as a follower of Christ, do a better job of reflecting the love and righteousness of God The Father.
LEARNING ABOUT ENDURANCE
One character trait that I have studied during this time is the trait of patient endurance.
The Greek word that is used to describe endurance is hypomone. This word is a term that best describes how a loyal servant knows their place, and how they are able to stand steadfast within that place. A servant that knows their proper place and stands steadfast will not fail or waiver. They will endure with patience and perseverance.
The journey to faithfulness is a long and windy road and it definitely requires the character trait of endurance.
PAUL; SERVANT OF GOD
After Jesus, who was fully human and fully God, the best example I can think of for being someone who truly lived out this definition of a patient and enduring servant of God is The Apostle Paul.
This fact was never so apparent to me as the day I found myself viewing the movie that honored Paul’s life. I took my Mom to see Paul, Apostle of Christ as a little birthday present; but it actually turned out to be a present for both of us.
What a beautiful movie and portrayal of the life of Paul!
THE MOVIE CALLED PAUL; APOSTLE OF CHRIST
Of course; I have been a steadfast Jim Caviezel fan from the first moment I saw him acting in the very early productions of his career. I loved him in “I Am David” and “The Count of Monte Cristo” way before the filming of “The Passion of Christ.” Most everyone agrees that The Passion of Christ was his greatest moment of glory; but Jim Caviezel has had MANY moments of glory and he has done some really excellent work as an actor. I was very excited to be seeing his acting skills again in this movie about The Apostle Paul.
MEETING JIM CAVIEZEL IN PERSON
When Jim Caviezel filmed The Passion of Christ; God intersected our lives for only a few moments.
I, once upon a time, even had the opportunity to speak with Jim Caviezel on the phone. I got to invite him to a television studio where I once worked as Administrative Assistant to the Executive Producer and Vice President; and in the course of that short conversation I was allowed the privilege of offering for the studio to help him make his airline reservations for a trip to do some production work with our studio.
It was almost comical actually because when I called he was in the shower. His sweet wife, Kerri, asked me to hold and she intercepted our conversations back and forth until he could get out of the shower and come to the phone. I could hear the water running. The studio I worked for was a not-for-profit religious organization and I cringed at the fact that I had to tell a famous actor like Jim Caviezel that though we wanted him to come and do some production work with us; we could offer no salary and he would have to fly coach on the plane, because our organization did not pay for people to fly in first class. He very casually agreed without hesitation and thanked me for doing the work to order the tickets for him.
After he arrived at the studio, I actually got to meet him in person (along with a whole bunch of our producers and cameramen who were doing their jobs and busy working in the studio.) I was actually the person in charge of hospitality for our guests; but somehow I got bumped down when Jim Caviezel showed up. Much more important people than I took care of his room and board. Anyway; I asked for his autograph and asked him how he endured all the torturous filming while hanging on a cross. He smiled and said “Don’t tell anyone but I used a lot of Bengay and it actually helped with some of the pain,.”
That was pretty much the extent of our relationship; but I was thrilled!
His time with us was all very brief and to the point; but it goes down in the history of a few other amazing days that have happened in my life; simply because God had strategically positioned me in the humble place of working for a living. I was just trying to make my mortgage payments and I had no idea there was going to be icing on the cake!
I’m sure they would never remember me; but Jim and Kerri Caviezel’s trip to our small television studio in Irondale, Alabama was one of the highlights of that year for me and my fellow workers. I still display the book he signed for me of The Passion of Christ on our coffee table every spring around Resurrection Day.
All fame aside; we all found him to be a most humble and sincere person. He honestly put all the people around him at ease and sincerely gave you the impression that he did not like to feel that he was any more important than anyone else in the room. His lovely wife did the same. She was quite charming. I could see the love of God in both of their eyes; and my admiration for them grew during those few days that they graced us with their presence. It was fun working in their shadows; maybe a lot like Luke felt about The Apostle Paul.
PAST PRODUCTIONS MAKE WAY FOR THE PRESENT
Naturally, I was very enthusiastic about the fact that Jim Caviezel would be playing in this new movie about The Apostle Paul called Paul; Apostle of Christ. This movie turned out to be an awesome production. I went in thinking I was bound to be disappointed because I had already seen the best of this type of production in The Passion of Christ.
I wasn’t disappointed at all! It was an excellent, very true to the facts production that left us sitting in our seats in the end; not wanting to move because we had absorbed so much intense emotion in only a small amount of time.
I laugh at the fact that we all just assumed that Jim Caviezel would play the role of Paul; but that was not the case either. He played the part of the disciple called Luke; the physician who followed Jesus who was very close to Paul and visited him during his long stay in the prisons of Rome in order to write down his words for the world to know his story.
THE THINGS THAT JUMPED OFF THE SCREEN AND INTO MY HEART FOREVER
So many things stood out in this movie.
The first thing I noticed, which we study from the scriptures all the time, but often pass over, is how the Christians of Rome banned together and looked out for one another during the horrible times of the prosecutions by Nero. Those days must have truly tested the faithful and it all comes out in this movie. To be known as a follower of Christ was like a death sentence. To worship God for sending the Messiah, Jesus Christ was banned in that old city. People were not to read the scriptures or pray or keep the Sabbath or share communion because apparently it reminded Nero that there was a completely different way to live; one that did not include him as God.
It came to me as I watched Priscilla and Aquila minister to their whole Christian community that this same thing could happen to us in America on any given day.
We could lose the precious freedom of religion that we have fought so hard for; and there are signs of this all around even as I write this article. As I watched the surreal scenes of ancient Christians carrying on their lives in spite of all odds and in spite of horrendous circumstances, the word that kept coming to me was “endurance.”
THOSE WHO ENDURED ALL THINGS FOR CHRIST
God wants servants that endure; like those who are portrayed in this movie.
The citizens who banned together and hid with one another in order to live a Christian lifestyle were good examples of what we all may have to do one day. Priscilla and Aquila were good examples of brave, courageous,generous and loving people. These two roles were very well represented by Joanne Whalley and John Lynch.
The disciple Luke, beautifully played by Jim Caviezel, was a perfect example of endurance too.
Luke was risking his life to help a fellow believer who was being held in prison simply because he would not bow to anyone but God. Paul stands out as one of the greatest examples of endurance that ever lived on planet earth; after the crucifixion of Christ. Of course Jesus is the greatest example of all and Paul was simply focused on following him without waiver.
We could all take a lesson from any of these strong characters. I think anyone who has actually sat through this moving movie would say they felt their pain and experienced the salty tears of the hopelessness that they all endured for the sake of being a witness for Christ in the middle of a very hostile environment. All the while their only goal was to show the steadfast love of God. The passion of the people is very evident and you can’t watch without feeling a kinship toward them. You will find your heart breaking through several scenes of this movie.
The actor playing the role of Paul is James Faulkner. His role was perfectly cast. He reminded me of Rembrandt’s painting of The Prodigal in appearance. He does an excellent job of acting out the life of Paul during a time when he had reached the age of well-rounded maturity in Christ. Most of the movie took place in Paul’s very last days on earth.
A MENTOR AND A TEACHER
We see Paul in the movie as someone who is constantly teaching Luke, even from a prison cell.
Luke is the courageous and daring, younger apostle totally eager to learn from the man he looks up to and admires so much. Luke knows that Paul’s execution is eminent; and he desires to pull Paul’s message of Christ out from the words of his heart and write them down in order to share them with the world.
Can you imagine us without two-thirds of the New Testament?
A FAITHFUL SCRIBE
That is what would have happened if the words of the Apostle Paul had been omitted. Luke had a driven mission to write them all down. Otherwise; no one would have known an inkling of all the many passages that we quote among ourselves and in our pulpits daily. We say them all with such casualness without even stopping to think that they might have been conceived in the deep dark recesses of a prison cell from a dying old man because someone was brave enough to go and listen and follow God’s command to serve in the best of all ways; as a faithful scribe of the Gospel.
A TERRIBLE TWIST OF IRONY
There is a true twist of irony that comes up in the story as Paul and Luke pray for the man in charge of Paul’s imprisonment; named Mauritius (who is wonderfully played by Oliver Martinez.)
Mauritius’s daughter is very ill and at the point of death. There is nothing that her father, or anyone, can do for her. They are shown praying to the pagan gods of Rome for help. The wife of Mauritius is insisting that these fake gods will help them. They are all accusing one another for not pleasing the gods since the girl does not ever get any better.
As a very last and hopeless resort Luke is finally given permission to go to the young girl. As he tends to her health and prays for her; she is revived. Though Mauritius and his wife are very grateful and consider this to be a great miracle; they never seem to seriously consider becoming Christians. Paul has some very pointed conversations with Mauritius to no avail.
LIFE CAN BE VERY IRONIC
In a most striking scene of this amazing movie; the whole city of Rome rejoices over this important political leader’s famous daughter’s miraculous healing.
Almost in the same hour these same masses of people are shown cheering and watching while a whole group of Christians from the same prison as Paul (including innocent children and their mothers) are being led into the circus arenas for Nero’s deadly games. They go to their deaths being burned like huge torches of human lanterns.
God’s grace left no impression on the affluent citizens of Rome.
It occurs to me that this is a too familiar part of the annals of human civilization’s history. Now days, whenever I think of that particular scene in the movie my thoughts go immediately to the suffering of an infant child whose parents have fought with the powers of government for the right of their “imperfect” child to live. As we watch this precious one die; Britain and the whole rest of the world rejoice over a new-born royal baby’s birth.
Life can be very ironic. Some things never change.
Real life, ancient lives, modern lives and movie characters alike all present the same story over and over. When will we live out what we believe and make a world that relates to all life equally and the same; whether pauper or wealthy, black or white, old or young, like us or different from us. This race of humanity requires constant endurance through hard and evil pathways. Our only hope is God.
DEATH, SUFFERING AND NARROW ESCAPES
I loved in the movie how Luke was able to minister to those who died in the flames on the night before their deaths. He too was supposed to be among them. His life was saved because the next morning he was sent away to help with a cure for Mauritius’s daughter.
Luke tenderly and honestly told them that there would be pain only for a moment……then they would see the face of God. He taught them the true art of enduring until the end. We know they now have their reward and the end of the movie brings this out in a very beautiful and moving way but I’ll let you find that out for yourselves.
PAUL’S NEW BEGINNING
Of course we all know the end of the story for Paul; but I was surprised that I loved the way the movie portrayed the death of Paul. Again; I will not explain it and ruin it for those who haven’t seen the movie yet.
I highly advise going to see this movie at the theaters; but I also recommend purchasing a copy for your movie collection at home.
The Company of Affirm Films with Outside Da Box, Executive Director/Writer Andrew Hyatt and Executive Producer Eric Groth, along with Executive Producers Rick Jackson and Harrison Powell and Producers T.S. Berden (also a Writer) and David Zelon are to be applauded for this tremendous work of art. Every actor in this film did their best and each part was well-played.
BACK TO COUNTING THE DAYS
And we are now on the 28th day of the omer count (four weeks of counting so far.) I’m reading in my daily reminder that “sovereignty is the cornerstone of endurance.” The exercise recommended in my devotional reminder is to go out and fight for a worthy cause. I smile to myself as I close the book for the day. I think of Paul’s very words: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
There are the words in black and white; written down by Luke for all the world to see.
The summary of Paul’s life. The words that should apply to all of our lives as we follow Christ.
Endurance.
It matters!
So don’t waste another moment. Get your tickets and go see this movie. I promise you it will touch your heart in a million different ways and you, like me, will learn what it truly means to endure.
God is so good to us.
All the time.