Esotropiart

Have you ever feared that, in your worst moments, someone may be watching you? Better yet, how would it effect your attitude or actions knowing for sure that someone is watching to your every move and listening to your every word? I believe what the book of Romans says when it tells us that "for all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God": we all have those moments we wish could be erased. When asked if we have any regrets or things we would have done differently, if honest, most of us will answer most assuredly, "yes". In a very imaginative way, Final Cut deals with these very real concerns.

This movie is set several decades in the future when bio-technological implants are available which are capable of recording everything that comes into the human brain via the eyes and ears. This device is very small, yet it records an enormous movie: hundreds of thousands of hours of a human life, from birth to death. Anyone who is interested and has the money can have one of these devices implanted into their child's brain in order to later have a full first-person record of their life.

The plot of Final Cut focuses on the story and profession of one particular individual, Alan Hakman, played by the talented Robin Williams. Alan is what is known as a "cutter", a person whose job entails taking the vast length of film collected by the implants after the host dies and to form a movie-length "Rememory" based on the contents. The complexity and conflict of the film revolves around the fact that these cutters' goal is to present each person in these life summaries as perfect; only the ideal memories aren't cut. No one is perfect, and all have those dark secrets they wish no one else to know, so the cutters purposefully leave these details out.

There is a gang who forms in opposition to the Zoe implants, holding the understandable view that no one should be subjected to such an invasion of privacy at birth. I found this "big brother eye" concept to be the most compelling aspect of the movie. Robin William's character, Alan, deals with his own secret memory from his childhood. This memory of his formed the person he became as an adult, and he cannot let it go. Guilt is his captor, and all his actions draw from a feeling of dread that he carries.

In answer to my own question, yes I fear the idea that all my moves are being recorded, or that perhaps someone was watching my darkest moments. Perhaps as a shock to some, there is someone who watches all we do. This movie paints a clear image of a God who knows all of our inner workings. In Psalms, David writes:

"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord."

"Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?... The Lord knows the thoughts of man"

Now most of us have heard as children that God knows everything including everything we do, say and think. But in reality, even the most devote follower of Christ stumbles, and it is easy to forget that His eyes are watching us. To some, it is discomforting to think that there is a holy God watching them, and they choose to be afraid or reject Him, pretend no one is watching, or even hide (Genesis 3:8). Shame is a part of our lives since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, for we can no longer live up to the absolute perfection God demands.

Sounds hopeless, eh? Well, here is where the much under-publicized love of God comes in. God does not leave us dead in our sin. Though His perfect righteousness demands punishment through death for all who sin, He is not satisfied in destroying us all.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life"

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit."

So because of God's great love, we are not consumed. In fact, we have the chance to become like God and to live with Him forever, starting today. What a gift! To think that the one who knows everything about us - even our hidden faults - wants to save us from death to be with Him. Even better, He gave his own life in our place to guarantee us this chance. Therefore we can see that, unlike every single other world religion, Christianity is not about being a good person or following an enormous and discouraging list of rules. Christianity is the chance to be free from guilt, free from those horrible memories and even future pain that we will most certainly experience (Psalm 103:12). God does not promise to deliver us from all the pain of this life, even after we trust in Him. He simply promises to be with us and to never give up on us (Hebrews 13:5). Once we give Him our lives, there is nothing that can separate us from Him (Romans 8:38,39).

Knowing all these things to be true, I sometimes still struggle with guilt and accepting God's forgiveness. If anyone else has trouble forgetting their past and needs a listening ear for comfort, I'm here. I am happy to explain in more detail the light of hope God has to offer us and how it has helped me in my life.

"In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."