Wow. I just got done watching the movie “Taken” with Liam Neeson. Talk about a story that speaks eternal truth – this movie has it loud and clear! A friend of mine recommended this movie a while back and told me to watch it in this context: see the father character as our Heavenly Father and what he has done to rescue us. I am blown away by the symbolism in this movie!
About halfway through, my wife said to me, “How many people is he going to kill?” to which I replied, “As many as it takes to get his daughter back.” Is that not the very same story of the Bible? When you think about it in that context, that of perfect love and dedication, all the death in the Old Testament comes into a new light doesn’t it? I remember struggling with “the God of the Old Testament” a couple of years ago. I just had a hard time seeing Him being a good God with all the death and disaster that takes place. I felt like God spoke to me and I wrote it down, “Andy I’ll do anything to save my bride, I’ll go to any length to destroy evil and rescue her.”
Think about that… He’ll do anything! Whatever it takes. He’ll put himself in harms way, I mean he literally died on the cross! If you haven’t seen the movie it may be hard to grasp the imagery, but Liam Neeson’s character literally hops on a plane to France, and pulls out all of his resources (he’s a former security agent/spy) and basically sends a one man invasion into the heart of a massive human trafficking and prostitution ring. Anyone who gets in his way, well, let’s just say it isn’t pretty. There are car wrecks, people die, explosions, Neeson’s character even jumps from a bridge to pursue his daughter’s captors. Isn’t that like God? Whatever gets in the way of His rescue mission – had better look out! I wouldn’t want to be an enemy of God! How powerful is that? How amazing is that? Now that’s a love story worth sharing.
Now, I know this gets confusing, because you might start thinking: well wait a minute who exactly is God trying to rescue? Isn’t it all of humanity? How does he kill one person to save another and how does that make sense? And to that I say… yes he would go to any length to save any of us. However, things get kind of tricky when you give the very children you’re trying to rescue from the enemy the dignity of causation (or free will in layman’s terms). Now before we spiral into a meaningless debate into the existence of absolute free will and predestination, let’s just say this: God doesn’t like evil – and evil didn’t originate with mankind! We have an enemy remember? Satan attacked humanity, the image bearers of God, and although we willingly went along for the ride, the idea wasn’t ours to begin with. God also willingly adopts any of us as His children – He wants us!
I think what I love about this movie is it just shows us a glimpse of the “reckless raging fury that we call the love of God” (to quote Rich Mullins). I think we often forget that Jesus was fully man as well as fully God. Yes, there is good reason to be in awe of his divinity, but what about the impact of his humanity? The anger he has toward our enemies, the fury in which he pursues us, the personal abandonment he displays in our rescue? That is the Gospel!
There are other good things about this movie including the light it sheds on human trafficking – which is truly horrific. When you see the pure evil behind that criminal activity it really causes you to think twice about the sexualized culture which we live in, and the degradation of women that takes place right here in America. Just how far removed is our culture from the roots of human trafficking? I think it’s closer to it than we realize.
The final touch on this movie, as far as symbolism is concerned, is played out nicely in the final scene. After successfully rescuing his daughter, Liam Neeson’s character surprises her with a special gift, a visit with a well known pop-singer for music lessons (which she has always wanted to pursue). Now, from the purely cinematic story standpoint it seemed a little cheesy. However, I think it continues the message of our Heavenly Father. Not only will He do anything to rescue us – he also wants to give us good things. I believe this movie does a great job of symbolizing the love God has for us. Once again, whether intended or not, eternal truths do seem to shine through in just about any story.