Hi everyone, welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
This is the third entry in my current collaboration with St. John's United Methodist Church for their "Movie Night" series. In this one, the focus is on the Christian film 'The Ultimate Gift.'
This film centers around Jason Stevens, a spoiled and selfish young playboy who learns that his billionaire grandfather has left him an inheritance, but that in order to inherit it, Jason must complete twelve tasks within a year. Each task involves him learning to appreciate a "Gift" of some kind, such as the "Gift of Work," "Gift of Learning," "Gift of Money," and "Gift of Friendship," among others. Along the way, he befriends a woman named Alexia and her terminally ill daughter Emily. They, along with his tasks, help him gain a new appreciation for life and all of its many gifts, and he ends up helping Emily make the most of her life while it lasts.
Although it had been years since I last saw it, I always greatly enjoyed 'The Ultimate Gift.' The performances are strong, especially from Drew Fuller as Jason and Abigail Breslin as Emily, as well as veteran actor Bill Cobb's performance as the grandfather's attorney, Mr. Hamilton. It teaches great messages about making the most of our lives, however long they may be, keeping God at the center of things, and indeed of appreciating the basic gifts of life the way Jason learns to do.
It eventually got a sequel called 'The Ultimate Life,' which was pretty good, too.
As my devotional which will be passed out at the screening points out, I point out a major devotional message to be taken from 'The Ultimate Gift' is the way that each of the "Gifts" associated with the tasks Jason does are closely associated with Christian virtues, with each frequently spoken of in Scripture. In particular, I point out the Gift of Friendship challenge, and how Alexia and Emily show Jason what true, Godly friendship looks like, as described in Proverbs 6:4-11.
Another Scriptural message I can find in 'The Ultimate Gift' is on the nature of good stewardship and using what we've been given wisely, which is shown near the climax of the film.
SPOILERS!
After Jason completes all the tasks that he has been given, he is next given $100 million from his grandfather's estate, to use however he pleases. He decides to use this inheritance to build a new hospital called "Emily's Home," specifically designed for patients with terminal illnesses, and makes a point of including a chapel in it. By the end of the film, once ground has broken on Emily's Home, he is called back to meet again with his grandfather's attorneys. It turns out that what he decided to use that $100 million inheritance for was a kind of final test for him, and as a reward for using it so selflessly, he is awarded over $2 billion from his grandfather's estate as his true inheritance.
This most calls to mind the two faithful servants in Jesus's parable of the Servants and the Talents in Matthew 25:14- 30.; As their master points out, they were faithful with small things (The relatively small amounts of money they were entrusted with), so they will now be entrusted with larger things (Higher positions of control and authority).
Indeed, in our walk with Jesus, if we prove to handle well the tasks that are given to us to serve Him and build His Kingdom and aren't content to just play it safe with the gifts and skills He has given us but actively seek to bring as much fruit from them as possible, He will often find ways to entrust us with even greater responsibilities. If we remain faithful, it can lead to rewards here on Earth, and immeasurably greater rewards waiting for us in Heaven.
As that parable teaches us, and as Jason, Emily, and the other characters in the film further show, the true "Ultimate Gift" comes from a life lived faithfully in service to God.
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. I'm already excited for what I have planned for this blog's entries nearing Christmas, so stay tuned for them. Until then, God bless you all!
