“Realistic” Movies Aren’t Realistic

This story is written by Matt and Karissa Long, part of the church planting team in Papua New Guinea.

Some people like dramas, I guess. They say they are more "realistic." On the surface, that seems true. Life is hard, things don't work out how we want them to, terrible things happen. But I argue, the fairy tale endings are actually the realistic ones.

Happy Endings

Near the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Samwise Gamgee exclaims, "Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue?" For the Christian, that is exactly what we will experience. In the end, God will win, everything will be made right, and He will wipe every tear from our eyes. I believe that we love happy endings because God has made our hearts to long for them. It's what we are made for.

The Hope of Eternity

I am so thankful to have the hope of eternity. I've heard the wailing of hopeless people here in Papua New Guinea. When someone here dies, everyone goes to a "house cry" and mourns for several days with a kind of wailing that I'll never forget. Oh, how I long to tell people that death doesn't have to be the end! That there is a God who loves them so much that He died for them.

Oh, and if you find yourself in the midst of a real-life drama, remember that the story isn't finished yet.