That face. Those eyes.
How many times have you read the story of Abraham in your Bible? Did you hear the stories when you were a child in Sunday School? Did you study Abraham's journey later on when you were in Youth Group? Did you eventually learn from Abraham's struggles when you were an adult applying his lessons to your own struggles?
How many times have you read about Abraham? I ask this question a second time.
If you are like the rest of us, you have read his story in the Old Testament so many times, you can almost recite it by heart. You may have read his story so many times that by now, you just glance over the words and pages without giving them a second thought. Maybe you don't give them the attention and honor they deserve.
After all, we are talking about people and stories - legends - from over four thousand years ago.
But, isn't that amazing? We are still telling these individual's stories - four thousand years later!
Welcome to the movie, "His Only Son." That title leads you to believe that this film is about Jesus. But in a strange twist of movie lore, Angel Studios (the company that brought you the beloved series, "The Chosen") brings us a captivating and moving story about Abraham and his son Isaac. The first time this relationship has been brought to a feature film.
This movie, much like Angel Studios other productions, is captivating and moving. Giving life to the stories we have heard and read our entire lives. Stories based on fact, but ad libbing conversations into the printed Word to bring the characters we love and admire to life.
How many times have you read about the love story of Abram and Sarai? It is one thing to read about their love in the Bible, but to see their story in the flesh is something else to behold.
We witness the scene when both were young and Abram met the Lord for the first time. How his life was instantly transformed and he was brought to his knees and overcome with emotion. We see him weeping to Sarai while trying to explain to her what he just experienced with this "new" God. His God.
We witness the young and so very beautiful Sarai struggling with this news as she tries to wrap her mind around it and at the same time, balance what she knows as her current truth - her family's and city's traditions.
What a test God was putting both Abram and Sarai through at that moment!
We see our characters transformed into Abraham and Sarah and their struggles with Sarah being barren. We see Sarah's anguish as she gives her handmaiden servant to Abraham and the utter despair she feels when Hagar conceives.
You have read the words and stories for so long, it is easy to gloss over them. But, as Angel Studios always succeeds in doing - once you meet the characters in flesh and blood and feel their pain and struggles, it is almost life changing. It brings the Bible stories to life in a way that can't be captured any other way.
In this film, we witness the journey of Abraham and Sarah as a couple, and eventually, we meet Isaac.
Such poignant scenes in His Only Son showcase Isaac's younger self; a part of life we don't see much of in our Bibles. Angel Studios is fantastic at letting us have a peek into what Isaac's personality might have been like as a young man. His views, his opinions, his emotions, his struggles as a man. Most importantly, we are able to witness what the Father-Son relationship between these might have been like.
Most of His Only Son is centered around Abraham and Isaac's three-day road trip to the site where Abraham believes he will sacrifice Isaac. Through flashbacks in Abraham's memory, we begin to better understand the pain Abraham must have been suffering throughout those three long days. The anguish he must have been going through thinking he was going to kill his son - the one God promised and finally delivered. How Abraham must have struggled with God. WHY would God take away the one thing they had waited so long for.
Our story culminates at the sacrificial site where Abraham has to tell Isaac that he is the sacrificial lamb God has requested. What a scene!
After many emotions and heartbreak, both men agree to serve their God. While they do not understand the task God has called them to, they will give of their free will and submit to serve a Holy and just God.
We all know how this story ends and what happens next, but try to put yourself in Abraham's and Isaac's shoes.
The emotions these two men share at that pivotal moment in time, and their ultimate decision to sacrifice everything to the God they serve. Would we make the same decisions they did? Could we even have the strength to set out on a journey so treacherous and beyond belief if God asked us to?
I'm not sure I could...
But let's take this love story and flip it around...I love how Angel Studios ends their movie. As our story winds down, the film begins to transition into a set of Scriptures coming onto screen. Scripture allows us to see how the story of Abraham and Isaac is a precursor to another Father and Son relationship. The story of how another Father actually did sacrifice His Son. A story unbelievable and horrific. Yet, a story that has captivated and transformed the world. A story of hope!
In just a few weeks, our churches and families will celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. The Son who was sacrificed by His heavenly Father for all of mankind. Because of the loving sacrifice of Jesus and His Father, we are able to gain access to Heaven and eternal life. God extends mercy and grace as Jesus becomes the bridge for us to obtain Heaven.
All you have to do is believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and Savior and that gaining access to Heaven only comes through Him. No works or deeds or being "good enough" will do it. It is only through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus that we can gain eternal life with our loved ones and Jesus.
It is my whole-hearted recommendation that you see this film as precursor to your holiday weekend. The film will only be in theaters for a short time, and your support of this film ensures that future films like this one will continue to be made.
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