Why scenes of self-sacrifice move us

Finding Forrester
Acts of self-sacrifice move us deeply. In the movie Finding Forester, the two leads Jamal Wallace and William Forrester both act in self-sacrificial ways. Jamal goes first and then William in the climactic scene summons the courage to self-sacrificially come out of his apartment and appear before a group of people on behalf of Jamal.

Many films, novels, short-stories, songs, works of art etc. deal with similar themes. Some of the films that came to mind while I was thinking about this talk were: Chronicles of Narnia, Gran Torino, Brave Heart, Life is Beautiful, The Messenger, Man on Fire & Braveheart.  These came pretty immediately to my mind. I’m sure that you would have your own list.

What is it about these scenes that move us? I think that these scenes reflect a reality that is at the heart of the universe, and that truth is that God is self-sacrificing. How do we know that God is self-sacrificing? We look at the cross of Jesus.

In John 12, Jesus looks ahead to his impending death at the hands of the Romans on a cross.
I really love this passage. Jesus in this passage ties his glory to his act of self-sacrificial love. In other words God’s glory is revealed in Jesus as he lays down his life on the cross. This sermon series The Good and Beautiful God has been about replacing wrong narratives about God with the true narrative that we see in Jesus.

One false narrative is that God is primarily selfish. God is a sort of a cosmic boss or bully that simply bosses everyone else in the universe around. That is a part of the basic lie in the Garden of Eden. The undercurrent of the serpent’s conversation with Eve is, “God is just acting like an arbitrary bully. This fruit is really good. God is just trying to throw his weight around, by saying you can’t eat.”

Jesus shows that God is self-giving. God in Christ is going to “be lifted up” on a cross. This act of self-sacrifice will “drive out the prince of this world.” The prince is driven out as the lies, the false narratives “God is selfish, God is a cosmic bully” are exposed.

Not only is the prince driven out, people are drawn to God as they get a clear picture of God as they see Jesus on the cross. Jesus at the cross draws “all people to himself.” This is why Paul would say things like he preached “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” The cross of Jesus is the perfect antidote for the many false – narratives we have believed about God.