I am notorious for finding spiritual implications in just about everything. 
Now some may call this a stretch, but here’s an example:
Have you seen the movie 50 First Dates?
We watched it the other night, and I still think it is so good!
Drew Barrymore’s character, Lucy, has
suffered a traumatic accident that erases her short-term memory every
night while she sleeps, so everyday when she wakes up, she thinks it is
Sunday, October 13, the day of the accident. Her dad, brother, and the folks at the local diner
keep up pretenses so as not to freak her out.
One day, Adam Sandler’s character,
Henry, meets Lucy and feels an attraction to her. He continues to
pursue her, even after he learns of her condition. In fact, he spends every day trying to get her to fall in love with him.
Lucy’s dad suspiciously asks him,
“What’s in it for you?” and Henry replies that he just enjoys her
company and wants to see her happy.
Is anything ringing a bell yet?
this is intentional on the part of the writer/director, but there is a
reason why certain ideas and stories resonate in our hearts.)
God relentlessly pursues a relationship with each one of us. His purpose in coming to earth as Jesus was to give us life to the full (John 10:10).
movie) decides that it would be better for Lucy if she knew the truth –
something about the truth setting her free and allowing her to make her
own choices. He makes her a video explaining about the accident and inviting her to ask questions. Um, that would be like the Bible itself. The accident // the Fall of man.
Lucy is indeed wooed by Henry, and he gains her trust. She starts
keeping a journal of her own in order to understand what has been
happening from her perspective. I’m a big fan of journaling, and I recommend that you keep track of how you are experiencing life, especially how God has blessed you and gotten you through the hard times.
After a while, Lucy realizes all the
effort that goes into helping her simply face each day, and she
convinces herself that she is a burden. She refuses to receive
any more of Henry’s love. She writes him out of her life – literally
retyping her journal, leaving out everything that pertained to
him. Henry is heart-broken, but she – due to her condition, of course –
forgets about him the very next day.
Ah, but she couldn’t erase him completely. Though Henry is physically
out of the picture, Lucy finds herself painting his portrait, since his
face keeps showing up in her dreams. This is what we call a rumor or a whisper of another world
– God has set eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and our souls
groan in eager expectation for God’s glory to be revealed (Romans
8:23).
Henry is in agony without Lucy, so he
confronts her, asking if he looks at all familiar to her. She says no,
but her artwork obviously indicates otherwise. He explains the role he
used to have, the role he still wants to have, in her life. They are reconciled and live happily ever after, more or less.
Please tell me that you see God all over this!
but eventually Henry and Lucy do get married. (I hope I haven’t spoiled
the movie for you, if you haven’t seen it. Watch it anyway. It’s funny,
even if some parts are a little “inappropriate.”)
Okay, so back to your relationship with God. Are you dating Jesus?
How much time are you spending with Him? Curl up on the couch right
now and talk to Him as if He is there (He is!). Go take a walk and
talk with Him. Grab your Bible and read His love letter to you.
It’s great if you go to church; maybe you even go to retreats and Christian conferences. But do you realize that God wants even more of you? He wants ALL of you! So, don’t just date him. Commit. Seriously, He loves you. He loves you!
