My wife left for the day with my two girls and I had the place to myself for a few hours. What better way to waste that time then to watch a movie? I was just going to watch a movie I had seen many times, as I was not feeling well and was planning on falling asleep for a few hours. For some reason I decided to look through the movies that my mother had given me to watch. I had watched two already and they were just brain dead movies, comedy and action. While looking I saw "Annapolis" and decided to throw it in and see what it was about. It would turn out that I was very glad I did, as it is a great movie with a very relative message for today.
You will not go wrong watching this movie. It delivers in a fresh and gripping way that no one is an island in this world and we need each other. It also deals in a realistic fashion that life does not always go our way and the good guy does not always win in the way that movies try to portray. Of course, you cannot seem to get away from the love story built into the plot as all movies seem to need, but they do it in a more realistic fashion. I can only recall a couple of instances with foul language and there was only one kiss in the whole movie, though there is a scene where the main characters’ buddies fool him into believing that a woman in a bar they frequented was a call girl they had bought for him for the night. The call girl is not one and ultimately plays an important role in the movie.
I started thinking about the church today while watching this movie. The gist of the film is that a young man kept pushing and finally made it into the Naval Academy. He is a loner and does not want help from anyone, but unfortunately life does not work that way and Annapolis teaches this lesson of life. Through out the academy he continues to try to make it on his own when in reality there is no way he can without the help of the other students. It is done this way purposely; as it teaches everyone has something to offer in their own special way.
In this same fashion God created the church to be the same way. People come in with the whole intention of doing everything themselves and that just does not work in the family of God. He has given us each gifts that will correspond and compliment the gifts of others. It is nearly impossible to walk through this life on our own apart from the body of Christ. "Annapolis" does a great job of projecting this philosophy throughout the film. If you try it alone you will wind up angry, frustrated, and lonely.
One last area that impressed me was they stayed pretty honest to real life. One young man in the film talks about only hearing his father tell him he was proud of him twice in his life and one was when he made it into the Naval Academy. Unfortunately he does not pass the obstacle course requirement, and he ultimately tries to kill himself because he felt he failed his father and everyone in his town. No matter how hard we try to please everyone and try to be perfect we will fail and if we do not have the saving faith of what it is to live for Christ the world will beat us down, as it did this character in the movie.
Thankfully, there is an answer and that is living for an audience of One, God. Of course we always want to make our parents proud, but it helps to know that ultimately we are loved unconditionally by Jesus and that even though things in this world may not end up as we wished they did, we can rest assured that in the next life we will enjoy eternity with God the Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost. Of course the only way to be assured of this is through salvation; believing in Christ as Savior and Lord.
In the hospital room the two roommates are talking and the young man that tried to kill himself looks at his friend and says, “I have gotten my second chance and I am not going to waist it. And you better not waist yours.” Though he was not talking about anything spiritual, it can be used as a great application for a spiritual lesson. Christ offers that second chance free of charge by just believing in Him as Savior and Lord. Confessing with your mouth that He is Lord and you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Believing Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead three days letter, defeating death forever. Do this and you will earn your second chance. Then the question is, “What will you do with your second chance?” Do not waist it.
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