Today I found myself watching TV and A Walk
to Remember was on. The first time I saw this movie, I was a middle school girl
desperate to get my hands on any romance movie. So I ate that movie up and
couldn’t wait to meet my “Landon Carter”. I thought it was a great movie. 10
years later, however, I’ve got a problem with it.
If you’re unfamiliar with the plot, here it
is in a nutshell: Bad boy, Landon Carter gets himself into a rough patch and in
order to pay his dues he has to get involved in drama club, where he is forced
to work with preacher’s daughter and school geek, Jamie Sullivan. Landon then
falls in love with Jamie, who, midway through their romance reveals that she’s
dying from cancer. Landon is heart broken, but stays with her, marries her, and
they live happily through a summer until she dies. It is a heartbreaking
romance, that many still consider one of their favorite chick-flicks.
Here’s where things get a little bit testy
for me. The movie has a spiritual element to it. Jamie’s character is a
Christian, and that’s a big reason why she’s set apart and mocked by her
classmates. When Landon falls in love with her, he changes. He starts listening
to Christian music, working hard in school, and dedicating himself fully to Jamie.
But here’s where I get frustrated, he does all these things for Jamie, and not
for God.
Landon questions Jamie about her faith and
she talks about the wind and how she can’t see it, but she can feel it… That’s
how she knows God is real. At the end of the movie after Jamie has died Landon
says the same thing about her, He can’t see her, but he can feel her. Did you
notice the shift? You see, Jamie was talking about her belief in God, while
Landon was talking about his belief in Jamie. Landon explains that Jamie
changed him and made him a better man, but never brings God into the picture, because,
to Landon, what changed him was a person and not God. Instead of worshipping
the Savior, he worshipped one of the saved.
I’m not saying that people can’t be a part
of your transformation to believing in Christ, but know where it comes from.
Your transformation isn’t the result of other people’s power, but the result of
Jesus working in your life. He uses His people to be a part of your journey,
and works through them to minister to you. But they are not God himself, and
should never be revered in that way.
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