I watched "Highlander: The Source" yesterday. Not the most well done movie of the series, but not the worst movie I'd ever seen. It definitely falls within the B-movie category, which is a shame because had it been done just a little differently, it could have been something genuinely good.
For those who don't know. "Highlander" is both a series of movies and a television series about a race of immortals who cannot die until someone cuts off their head. In addition to this, they are all drawn to do just that with each other until only one remains. Along the way, they can form friendships, marriages, and alliances with each other, though it is always with the understanding that they might eventually end up dueling each other to the death. When one immortal takes the head of another, they absorb the other's energy or power in what is called "the quickening." As a consequence of their immortality, they also cannot father or bear children. The principle protagonist of the movies is Conner Macleod, and the principle protagonist of the series and the last two movies is Duncan Macleod, both immortals.
There was one scene, and one exchange which caught my attention in this particular movie that I watched yesterday and which has resonated with me. In the movie, there are two immortal characters named Methos and Giovanni. Giovanni appears to be a Catholic Cardinal, while Methos appears to want little if anything to do with religion or spirituality. At one point, these two men along with the other protagonists are hanging with their wrists tied about to be eaten by a group of cannibals. Giovanni, who has been relentlessly vocal about his religious beliefs yet clearly also has selfish motivations, laments his fate saying, "I can't believe God would let this happen to a true Christian." To this, Methos rebukes him and replies, "I was there! I heard Christ teach! I saw him heal! And you sir are no Christian!"
Methos, who wanted little to do with the supernatural, with superstition or religion, as an immortal had been there in Judea two thousand years prior. He had seen the real thing with his own eyes and heard the real thing with his ears, and even if he did not profess to follow Christ in any way, what he heard and saw had a profound impact on him, and he respected Christ and His disciples enough to where he knew a counterfeit when he saw one and refused to put up with one, much less be one. It was a potent rebuke, and one which appeared to divest Giovanni of any further pretense.
When Secret Service agents are trained to spot counterfeit currency, they're given nothing but genuine U.S. bills for a long time. They're familiarized with all of their features, the ink used, the paper used, and so forth. Only after they know those bills inside and out are they given counterfeits, and they're able to spot them easily. But if all a person was given to look at were counterfeits, how could they possibly know the real thing when they saw it?
People today don't need to see religious church people. They don't need to see me going to church, singing songs, reading my Bible, and so forth. They need to see Jesus Christ. They need to see and hear the genuine article through what they see me doing and hear me saying. They need to hear His words and see His works manifest through me. And once someone does, they don't forget Him. Once someone sees and hears Jesus Christ, they can spot the fake immediately, and the fake actually becomes offensive and an obstacle. This is one of the many reasons why handing ourselves over to the Spirit of Christ and disengaging from the behaviors and responses which originate with our own malfunctioning neurology, no matter how well intentioned, is of primary importance, and should be our singular and relentless goal. If we want to bring people to Jesus Christ, then we must manifest Jesus Christ to them. If we want people to know Him, then we must be the channels to make that happen, and we must ourselves step out of the way.
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