Thursday, November 01, 2007

into the wild


last night kristie and i went to see 'into the wild' for a birthday celebration. it was an extraordinary movie, very odd and oddly filmed. i liked it for its beauty, and the story was touching too.

i guess what i am thinking about this morning, is that in the movie, chris is hurt early in life and it drives him to reject people pretty much altogether. he cannot understand why people hurt each other, so he looks around him, sees all that God has created, and sets out to live for THAT instead of people (or society).

what we see are his brushes with death, moments of pure exhilaration (hey Care, he jumped off a cliff too!) and finally his demise thanks to some miscalculations about the alaskan wilderness.

in between, he reads books and meets some odd characters that help him along his journey.

great story. of course, i don't think the movie, or chris for that matter, really ever got to the heart of why we are here. that we as people are made to have relationship with, not just knowledge about, the Living God. that his creations ARE a display of His power and awesomeness, but not the whole of Him. that the REAL adventure for each of us is designed by God, just for us, and cannot be completed (or even started for that matter) without Him.

so yeah. chris mccandless was an adventurer. i think at the end, he was becoming aware of the real purpose he was made for, that relationship with God. i certainly hope so anyway. as for me, i'm reminded of the geoff moore song "when i get where i'm going" where geoff talks about flying, and petting animals, and just the goodness of Heaven. i think i'll get through this life by living a little less large than chris did, but not give up the hope in my heart to someday do everything he did, and more.

6 comments:

K~ said...

That was very beautifully said Bob. K~

Karen said...

I think I read this book last Christmas at Carey's house. Is this the guy who ends up in the old bus?

bobbione8y said...

yup.

that photo of him sitting in front of the bus smiling (it was found in his camera after they found his body) is chilling.

good flick. very Sean Pennish. :)

Karen said...

Is it Monkey-appropriate?

bobbione8y said...

most of it.

there are a few naked people (hippies are big companions when you are a wanderer) and one moose gutting that kris and i had to close our eyes for.

kind of iffy i suppose.

Karen said...

Ok. Thanks. He saw Dr. Phil in the waiting room at my mom's appointment today. That was enough education for awhile, I think.