The Gospel exemplified in the movie Looper.

WARNING- If you haven't seen the movie Loopers yet I would suggest not reading this blog unless you want to ruin the ending for yourself. But it's good, so I actually do suggest reading it!

Scene:
In the final scene of the movie Looper, the camera is rotating around the last few characters in slow motion as younger Joe (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) shares his thoughts about the fate of these remaining characters. You see, the young boy Cid (Pierce Gagnon) whom the whole audience knows at this point is fated to take over the world 30 years from then as a dictator with a stone heart and iron fist, is about to die. Actually, he is about to be shot dead by older Joe from 30 years into the future (Bruce Willis), who has personally experienced Cid the dictator and his wrath, and has traveled back in time to stop the boy prematurely. We see older Joe's gun pointed straight for little cid, and younger Joe's gun pointed for the older, futuristic version of himself, in attempts to save this child. 

Here is where the Gospel comes in. Cid, representing the human race as a whole, is a child with super powers caused by radiation exposer. He can barely control his anger and when the little control he does have runs out, he explodes everything and everyone in his path. Thus allowing him in the future to single handedly take over the world with a heart full of anger. Old Joe sees this boy so full of hatred, anger, wrath, and selfish tendencies. We'll say that is his sin for the sake of the blog. Old Joe , taking on the role of God the Father in this gospel description, wants to kill the boy and eliminate this sin. Such an accurate reflection so far. "For the wages of sin is death.." Romans 6:23a 
Then we see young Joe, who has grown to love this young boy and almost believe in him. You can tell throughout the dialog in the end scene he doesn't want Cid to die, but to live. Live with a hope of a future without rage, and pain, and anger, and taking over the world as dictator with these "sins". "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11. 
Here was where it got overwhelming for me. The specific guns the two Joe's were using were made for murdering close range. 15 feet to be exact, as it was described earlier in the film. Old Joe is in perfect range and ready to kill the evil Cid. Young Joe, representing Christ, is not within that 15 foot range. He explains aloud as he realizes the only was to save Cid's life and stop the wrath of older Joe, God the Father, is to take his gun and kill Himself. If does this, Old Joe will immediately disappear (according to the stories rules of time travel) and the boy, representing the human race, will be safe. Have a chance, a hope to live without this madness. Young Joe, just as the older Joe was about to pull the trigger, turns the gun on himself. 

Isn't that just what Christ did for us? God's just wrath was towards us in our sin, but the only way we could have a hope was if Jesus Christ turned the gun on Himself. Laid down His life on the cross at Calvary to be poured out as an atonement for our sins. "By this we know love, that he [Jesus] laid down his life for us" 1 John 3:16a. I literally wept in the theatre at this remembrance. Trying not to let the person sitting beside me see me balling like a baby. 

Of course we are flawed humans so the movie was in no way an exact replication of the Gospel. God wasn't avenging his dead wife and Jesus wasn't in the murder business. Nor did God disappear when Jesus dies for us. But even glimpses of the Gospel exemplified can set a believer on their knees, hit a thankful soft spot, and remind them where their Hope is. What I love about Christ's Truth and Gospel is that it is ultimate Truth, so you can see it anywhere and everywhere echoed throughout the universe He created. Especially throughout relationship scenarios. (Our relationships, more so biblical ones, were made to reflect the community of Christ and the Trinity. Although we could never, of course being human, do it perfectly.)

Disclaimer- I know I am not hardly the first to come up with the concept of seeing the Gospel in films. There are actually teams of people whose job are solely to recognize Gospel examples in movies and write about them. I am simply in awe of what I saw, to the point of joyful tears rolling down my face in the theatre, that I had to share! 

Feel free to comment,
HillaryJane

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