Operation Rescue
I ventured to the Sundance Film Festival with heart, mind, hands, eyes, and ears wide open—ready to receive any insights the films and the people and the place had to offer. I partook of fourteen films during my week at the festival. As I listened and pondered, I realized that fourteen films made by fourteen different groups of people from around the world remarkably possessed a common set of themes. Most notably, almost every movie I saw spoke to the yearning in all humans for friendship, love, and relationship. These Sundance films were clearly crying out about the longing and loneliness afflicting the human race. I began to think about what it is in our shared humanity that causes this affliction.
As I pondered, I came to see that this human yearning for relationship has its origin in our origin as created beings created to image and have a relationship with God (Genesis 1:27). Being created in the image of God means we were created in the image of the Trinity (God in three persons). As such, the very nature of our design requires relationship.
Ultimately, we were designed to be in relationship with God Himself. Unfortunately, when sin entered the world by humans not following God’s perfect plan, separation from God occurred. Because God and His ways are perfect, He cannot have a relationship with anything that is not perfect. Human disobedience led to separation from the living God (see Romans 5). Humanity and the world is in crisis in this separation from God. But God does not want to live without us. Out of His great love and mercy, He decided to make a way to redeem us, to buy us back, to get us back in relationship with Him. God initiated this relationship rescue plan in the covenant He made with Abraham, when He promised that all the world would be blessed through the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:3). The great rescue and restoration would eventually be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Jesus, the great Rescuer, paid the price for our sin (death) so that we could be restored to relationship with God (Romans 6:23). He did this by leaving heaven’s glory and coming to the earth to live and die as a man. Jesus condescended to enter a fallen world to redeem it—that’s how important relationship is. So when we hear a world crying out for it (as in the Sundance films), we should not ignore it nor take it lightly.
Through these films, God showed me afresh our great and constant need for Him and His kindness, love, and relationship as I witnessed the despair, depravity, and yearning of the people and world portrayed on the screen. Every bit of sorrow, loneliness, and longing for love in these movies points to humanity’s great need of God and to the fact that things in this world are not how He intended them to be.
This should inspire us. Jesus’ followers are to reflect Him and tell of His love and take His offer of rescue and eternal relationship to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The Sundance films clearly reminded me that the world still desperately needs us to do that. Let us not ignore the revelation. As Makoto Fujimura charges in his book, Culture Care, “May we stalk the borders and margins, accepting our deputized call to carry good news to the poor.”
And may we know more of this good news ourselves. The great rescue gets richer and more wonderful the more we live it and explore it and understand it. Scripture tells us, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2, NIV). In this operation, we have been seen by God, called by God, predestined to be transformed to be like Jesus, justified, and glorified (see Romans 8:28-30).
What can we say?! If God is so for us and has done so much to rescue us in such a huge way—who can possibly be against us? I mean, do we realize where we stand with Him, fellow believers? He gave up His own Son for us all. Do we think about what He rescued us from? And all the trouble and pain it took to rescue us? All the sacrifice and effort and intention? The rescue is real. It is deep. It is sure. It is eternal. It is secure. It is precious. It is costly. It is true. It is outrageous. It is great.
And now no one can bring any charge against us. New identity. Debt is paid. Untouchable. Nothing can snatch us from our rescue zone. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. In all things (even hardship, famine, nakedness, death threats) we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (see Romans 8:35-37). We didn’t just slip by—by the skin of our teeth. No. This was a great, intentional, costly rescue with permanent results, permanent success. No one can steal us. Once we’ve been through the great rescue, there’s no turning back. No turning back.
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When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.
–Matthew 9:36, CSB
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
–Romans 10:14, NLT
But you are a chosen people…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light!
–1 Peter 2:9-10, NIV
Destiny Teasley lives in Nevada, where she is a lover of the arts, pop culture, and travel (you'll often find her daydreaming about being in Israel or Disneyland). She delights in encountering beauty in the world and helping others to see and celebrate it for themselves. Destiny studied at Baylor, UNLV, Oxford, and Dallas Theological Seminary. You can find more of her writing at her blog,whentherockscryout.com .