Les Miserables

The other day I watched a movie with my sisters and brother called "Les Miserables." I just wanted to share with you my journal entry about this movie. Please bare with me as this is a lengthy post.

Journal Entry
Day 46 at the HA: February 18, 2013

Last night, Rachel, Renae, Caleb and I watched a musical called "Les Miserables." This musical is about a man who began as a prisoner, he is set free after 19 years but only on parole. He is told to live the rest of his life in rejection. Everywhere he goes for the rest of his life, he musty show papers saying he is on parole, if he fails to show these papers to anyone, he will be hunted down and sent back to prison to be a slave  Unfortunately showing these papers makes it impossible to get a job so the man continues to wander lonely and rejected.

He finally stumbles upon a Catholic priest who takes him in, feeds hi, and provides shelter for him. During the night, the man collects valuable goods from the church and  leaves taking the goods with him. He is soon after caught and brought back to the priest. The officer tell the priest that the man claimed the valuables were given to him. The priest tells the officer yes it is true. He then looks at the man and says my brother you left so quickly , I couldn't give you the best gift. The priest then hands over two silver candle sticks, and sets the man free from the officers. The man is so amazed at the grace of the priest who then tills him to use the silver to start a new life.

Eight years later, we find this man to be a successful business man who is highly respected by all the people. He is passionate and caring towards others, a man of love, mercy, and grace. He finds himself coming across a dying prostitute, a woman drove to desperation because he had allowed her to lose her job. She had done everything she had to do in order to get money for her daughter to live. In her last breaths, she told the man where her daughter was and he promised to get her and provide for her. He finds the girl and buys her off of the innkeeper. By this time, his true identity as a former criminal has been revealed and he now has a man hunting after him, He protects the child from his pursuers. The day he gets the child he falls in love with her and adopts her as his own.

For the next nine years, he raises the child to a young woman. She loves him as he loves her, understanding fully the adoption the man had given her. When we first meet this girl, she is mistreated and unloved by the innkeepers. But she is taken away from the pain and is given a new life, a life of love, and provision. She was given all that she needed and wanted. She, from the start, understood and accepted this adoption. This man was now her "Papa."

Nine years later, the father and daughter are walking across the streets of France and her eye suddenly catches the eye of a young man. They both fall in love at the sight of each other. He, now convinced, that there is no life outside of her, leaves his friends and plans of revolution to find the woman of his dreams. He finds her and declares his love for her. They share a beautiful moment together telling each other how in love they are. Her father comes outside worried that she is out alone but he does not catch the young man and is oblivious to the love his daughter has for this young man.

Later that night, the father finds our that the man who has been hunting him has found his location. He gathers his daughter and their belonging and they leave. The daughter, before she leaves, places a note outside for her love. Distraught, her lover did not receive the letter right away so he, now seeing no meaning to life, joins with the revolution. After the first day of fighting and bloodshed, the lover receives the letter. He replies, but the letter gets to the father first. Confused as to why his daughter would be receiving a letter, he reads it. The letter is heart-filled with words of love and farewell because the young man is now facing his death. The father, touched and amazed that his daughter has found live, goes to the revolution to look after the young man.

The father risked his life and ends up saving the young man from near death so that he could be united with his daughter. The two are brought together and married, all because of the love the father had for his daughter. Her happiness meant more to him than his own life.

Why did I just spend all of this time talking about this movie? There are a few different things about this story that I was able to relate with God. Let's look at the beginning. This man was a slave, a criminal, the lowest of the low yet was set free, given another chance at life again. This is exactly how we are before coming to Christ. We are slaves to our sin we are bound in chains, but Jesus set us free to have a new start. The man spoils his new freedom by stealing from the priest. How often do we mess up? Christ set us free yet we continue to stumble and fall. But, just like the priest had mercy on the man, how much more God has mercy on us. Even though we don't deserve it, He gives it to us. Just like the man we are then given yet another chance to life a life that was worth Christ dying for.

Later on, the young girl who is living a life of abuse and mistreatment is adopted by this kind loving man who wants to love her and giver her all the desires of her heart. She can then do one of two things, she can either receive the adoption, or she can reject it. Who wouldn't receive it? A child knows enough to understand that they want to go with the person who is going to treat them well and right. In the same way, we have been adopted as sons and daughters of God and our Father is a King who wants to give us the deepest desires of our hearts. We have to see as the child saw so clearly who loves us and cares for us. We then have to receive that adoption.

After the girl was adopted, she immediately knew who she now was. She instantly dropped her old identity. She knew without a doubt in her mind that she was loved and cared for, she knew who her "Papa" was. We have been adopted, so lets walk out in that adoption. We should be as secure as that little girl was. We know who our Father is, he is the Kinds who wants to give us all the desires of our hearts. He wants to protect us as the man protected the girl. he is our Father, we are His children.

Later, the father finds our that his daughter is in love. He then puts his life in danger to bring his daughter the man that she loves. The love for his daughter was so great, he saw the desire that she had, and wanted her to have her desire fulfilled. He went to the extent to risk his own life for the sake of his daughters happiness. What love is that? But the Lord did one better! He saw us, we were His desire. He saw our desire for adoption, He saw our desire for acceptance, for love. God did more than risk His life, He gave the life of His only So. What love is that, that the Father would give up His only Son so that His adopted children could have the desires of their heart, and experience the love of their Father?