Lion - the movie

2,071 Views | 6 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by 94chem
94chem
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My wife and I saw "Lion" over the weekend. This wasn't a great movie on the level of "Schindler's List" or "The Pianist," but it was great in its ability to tell a true story that got to the heart of adoption, without the need to invoke any particular theology. The movie did, however, deal with religion indirectly, for those willing to see it.

The story is about a 5 year old boy in India who gets separated from his family accidentally, gets lost a thousand miles away, and ends up being adopted by an Australian couple. 25 years later, he returns to India to search for his long lost biological family. The only spoiler I will give is this: THIS MOVIE WILL COMPEL YOU TO ACTION; IF IT DOES NOT, THEN YOU ARE DEAD INSIDE. As an adoptive father (two different countries, both times older children), I will leave you with some observations from the film:

1) Notice that the film is about an hour long before anybody shows any kindness to the boy. There are religious people all over India, yet no one in that sea of humanity does anything. He is completely on his own. Is our religion that way too?

2) The film-makers had to show in some way that children come with incredible baggage. A boy at the Indian orphanage is shown going crazy in the clutches of unspeakable abuse. This scene is inserted to draw your attention to the difficulties of the Australian couple's 2nd adopted child, who has severe emotional problems. Adoptive parents would understand this already, but the average viewer might just say, "Why is that boy so strange?"

3) There is a scene with children sleeping in a subway tunnel, then being abducted by strangers. A law enforcement official stands by and does nothing. 80,000 children disappear in India each year. How many of them mercifully die? How many are bought and sold as sex slaves? Can this happen without the consent of law enforcement? Can this happen here, in America, without the consent of law enforcement (rhetorical)?

4) Adoption is disruptive. It may cause you to set your dreams aside. It may change your expectations for your children. It may embarrass us, cost us a lot of money, put us in harm's way, give us an unfortunate but accurate view of mankind. But as a Christian, has not God called me to be disrupted? What does my agenda have to do with taking up my cross daily?

So, what do you do after you see this movie? Let me suggest a few things! Sponsor a World Vision or Gospel for Asia child. Become a foster parent. Adopt a child, locally or internationally. Babysit for a family with adopted children. Give money to an adopting family. Go serve children on a short-term mission trip. Explore ways with your church leadership to become a church that encourages adoption. Choose your own adventure.

Finally, don't think I'm here to say "look at me." I'm here to say "look at you." If you pray, ask God how He would want you to be involved. Expect an answer. Then take a step in faith.
swimmerbabe11
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I have a couple of friends who work with an orphanage in India and adopted a baby girl. She was so tiny and underfed and they are having to do tons of therapy to get her up to speed. Their charity is http://lovelikeyoumeanit.us/
94chem
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Recent Adoption Study
Frok
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AG
There is no better representation of the gospel than adoption.
94chem
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Quote:

There is no better representation of the gospel than adoption.
True. But I don't think most people understand how vast this representation is, and I think most people are afraid to find out. When you make the choice to adopt, you discover that you are not merely exemplifying the familial model portrayed in scripture (we are Christ's siblings/God adopted us/we adopt others/gospel is portrayed).

It's much more than providing parents for a child. It's much more than fulfilling a longing to have a child. It's taking on all of the child's baggage, seeing the ugly side of sin and the world, and giving someone hope. But wait, there's more...I think many people can grasp the idea of being the messiah. It's the fear of needing a messiah that keeps most people from adopting. We love the gospel portrayal, except for the part where we have to understand that we're not God. We have to go to great lengths to bring the child into our home. In that sense, we show Christ to the world, and the great lengths he went to win us into his Father's family. But...as earthly parents, we also need the savior too. And the ugliness, the selfishness, the brokenness that he reveals to us in the adoption journey is just as ugly as the brokenness that is coming into our family. Adopted children come from hard places, it is true, but their parents come from hard places with hard hearts too. When you yield to the call to adopt, you also yield to the call to have those wounds exposed...and healed...if you are willing to do so.

The "study" I posted above is of course in jest. But why are there more churches in America than there are orphans? How can anything, other than hardness of heart, be the answer?
94chem
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There are an estimated 350,000 churches in America.

There are an estimated 120,000 orphans in America, and another 400,000 children in foster care.

If one family in each church adopted a child...

Line up and wait 18L
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Thanks for sharing, my wife and I saw this movie as well. It is thought provoking to say the least.

You are correct, it should compel us all to action.
94chem
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Bump just in case anyone besides me has anything to say.
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