Portraits vs. Movies

Ever since I owned my first 35 mm camera and then later started using an 8mm movie camera, I came to love photography and filmmaking. I'm a visual person and therefore God has given me a gift to "see" things that would make good photos or movies. I still love taking photos. One of my dreams is to buy some professional digital camera equipment and delve more into this as a hobby or even semi-profession.

After I heard that testimony from my friend last Sunday, I was reflecting on the difference between snap shot photos, or portraits, and films. A photo shows us what happened in an instance -- a newborn baby, a couple that just got married, two friends sitting together at a restaurant while on vacation. Still cameras catch a single moment. In contrast, a movie or video camera captures a period of time, even if it's only for a few seconds.

Over the past few months, when my friend was gradually coming back to the Lord and reconnecting with the body of Christ, several people reached out to him. He mentioned a number of these folks in his talk. At each moment, or snapshot, perhaps it was hard for those who helped him to see if they were really making a difference in his life. They may not have realized how the Lord was using them. However, when they heard his testimony last Sunday, as he told of what God did over several months, what they saw was a movie. Directed and written by the Lord, using a cast of hundreds in this film. As my friend told his story, which was God's story written all over it, he helped us see a beautiful movie of the faithfulness of the Lord.

This metaphor of photos vs. movies helps me in my walk of faith in Christ. At times, I have a hard time seeing Him at work in my life. In the daily grind of ministering to people, it's difficult to comprehend if I'm really making a difference in their lives. And yet by faith I keep plugging away. You do, too.

All of you parents, especially those of you raising little children or who are in the midst of parenting teenagers, may wonder how much of a real impact you’re making in your children’s lives. Taking them to school. Picking them up. Making their lunches. Helping with their homework. Driving them to soccer practice or dance recitals. These are all snapshots that God is using to edit a film that He is directing, if you and I are submitted to Him. And yet we don’t “see” the film until those wonderful moments come where our child graduates from high school or college, or they marry a wonderful Christian mate, or they one day tell us, “Mom (or Dad), thank you so much for all you did for me.” Then we realize it was all worth it.

So we walk by faith in the daily portraits of life, trusting God to produce a film of His faithfulness and loving kindness in our lives and that of our entire family. He is the director. We are the cast. And as we daily submit to Him, trusting Him to do His work in us, what a glorious film He will produce. We get to see some of the footage here on earth. And I believe we'll see the final print in heaven and be absolutely blown away. It will be a production far surpassing anything Hollywood has ever produced.

Jim