Left Behind

I'm not gonna die here. And so the hero starts making sure he doesn't die. The Martian on Mars is no  alien creature. He's human. And like all humans pushed into a corner, survival instincts get him going when the going gets tough. A critic called the movie Robinson Crusoe in space, which is indeed rather apt. The whole story revolves around an astronaut accidentally stranded all alone on the Red Planet, after a fierce storm forces his crew members to leave him behind for dead. He's got to figure out firstly, how to keep himself alive in a hostile environment and secondly, how to communicate to earth that he is indeed alive and needs rescue.

The movie garnered many good reviews. Indeed it's an enjoyable romp, for the hero is alternately portrayed as funny and desperate. To be able to crack jokes in the face of death gets us rooting for him to make it. Still I found his antics and his monologues a bit wearisome after awhile. Maybe it's because  I just don't think it's all that great to plant potatoes with human poo, or burn hydrogen and oxygen to get water. I like my heroes involved in lots of whammy eye-popping, nail-biting, breath-stopping action stuff. My kind of hero is bigger than life....like my God. I guess there wasn't enough of that in this movie for me.

Still it did cause me to wonder at the tenacity of man for self-preservation and our pride in  human achievement. The hero can boast, " I am the greatest botanist on this planet," obviously since there is really no other competitor around. It's meant to be funny, but what's so funny about an empty boast? He claims to 'colonize' Mars by planting crops on its terrain, but what good does that do, when he's seemingly going to die anyway? Take away the attempt at  humor; it becomes meaningless arrogance, a psychological booster to deal with depression. 

And that's the nature of man essentially.  We think we are so smart, we can solve all life's problems through science and self-effort.  Sure, we can and there's nothing wrong with that. After all our brains are wired to be used to think. But after all the thinking and tinkering, hero Martian must still depend on others  to get him  home.

At one point or another in our lives, we are gonna realize there's only so much we can do to not die. We are gonna realize  human ingenuity and science are limited in their own scope. It can answer questions of the head, but never questions of the heart, simply because they are 2 different things. At the climax of the rescue mission, dear hero had absolutely no control over anything anymore. In a last desperado act, he had to puncture his protective suit, trusting that would propel him into the path of his 'savior' - the one who was reaching out to him - his Commander dangling from a rope out of the rescue vessel to catch him. If she missed, he would be off floating forever in infinite space.  So who's the real hero really? 

I guess that's a lot like how we treat God. Back years ago when I was a smart-aleck earning a comfortable amount of dollars,  happily settled with the man I loved, seemingly complete with children, a home, and content with the easy life, I had absolutely no need of God. I was in control of my life, and of course I swore I would have it no other way.  I may not be the greatest whatever on this planet, but I was pretty sure I could handle anything and everything my way. Until death came knocking. It didn't take me, it took the one I loved.  That was the cruncher which broke self-sufficient me - to finally admit, I have no control over my or anyone's life for that matter. If it were not for the grace of an unseen God who loves me in spite of my pride, I would not be where I am now, saved and secured in something much much bigger than myself. As in how it  takes just 1 storm to destroy all the hero's hard labor in his potato space-garden, we never know what will hit us till it comes..

And the final 'it', the ultimate challenge, all mankind must face is always death, which really is a lost battle for us on this side of earth. The hero in the movie recognized that fact, "None of this matters at all if I can't find a way to make contact....." And for his rescue to succeed, he had to accept, obey and trust the instructions of another - the one who cooked up the plan in the first place. It was a crazy plan which involved him having to dump everything except the chair he was sitting in, and  lift off without even a roof over his head, relying solely on a hope that somehow 'they' would be able to catch his drifting vehicle as it hurtled out of Mars space.

Isn't that so like God? He cooks up an incredulous plan that involves Jesus dying for us so that we don't get left behind in death and instead get taken home all the way to heaven to live forever. Home. A place that conjures up all manner of good things. A place to curl up our feet.  A place where we are welcomed and loved. Who wouldn't want to go home? Yet, God's plan sounds too crazy, too easy, too good to be true. For unlike the movie hero, we don't need to scratch our brains, stretch our muscles, apply science or depend on logic. We don't even have to figure out a way of trying to communicate the problem of our existence. The solution was given and proven 2015 years ago when Jesus walked out alive from the tomb of death.

I don't need to worry if God will somehow 'miss' catching me; He will not let death swallow me up. I am very sure I will get home because He has promised it. All that's required of me is to put my life into His hands; believing  I will never be left behind....


Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. - John 14:1-3