Special effects in movies are awesome, aren’t they?
No. Not really. OK. Not at all.
The new Ghost Busters is coming out soon.
If you’re old enough – remember when it came out?
It was so cool.
Well – it’s out again. The original. For just a few showings. Partly to get more money, I’m sure. Partly for some of us to remember it. Partly to get younger people some idea what it was about – and get them to see the new one.
I remember thinking the original had great special effects.
So I went to see it again before the new one comes out. After all – it’s been more than 30 years.
Young people might go see it and wonder why we thought it was so awesome. Compared to what’s out today – it’s nothing.
I saw it – and was amazed how “old” it looked.
The effects were pretty much nothing.
The quality of the picture was awful.
But at the time – we loved it.
And so we’ll all go see the new one.
And be impressed at how great it is.
The special effects in the preview were much better than 30 years ago.
The image is so sharp compared to what it was 30 years ago.
And at this time – we’ll probably love it.
But what about 30 years from now?
Let’s take a side trip here.
Part of the pre-show “entertainment” was an ad for a re-showing of the final performance of Motley Crue.
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the performers. And anyone else in their shoes.
I mean – their last performance.
Like it’s all down hill from there.
No more performances.
No more cheering audiences.
No more adoring fans.
No more excitement.
After that show – they’ll be doing the same thing as the people paying to watch the final performance.
Again. And again.
Remembering the glory and awesomeness of days past.
Because the future will have nothing new from them.
Or – if you were part of the group – nothing new for them.
Contrast that with these prophecies in Isaiah –
Isa 42:9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”
and
Isa 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
and
New Heavens and a New Earth
Isa 65:17 “Behold, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
Isa 65:18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
Isa 65:19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.
Isa 65:20 “Never again will there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
he who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere youth;
he who fails to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.
Isa 65:21 They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
Isa 65:22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,
so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy
the works of their hands.
Isa 65:23 They will not toil in vain
or bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the LORD,
they and their descendants with them.
Isa 65:24 Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear.
Isa 65:25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
but dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”
says the LORD.
The best thing we do here on earth will be dwarfed by what is to come.
Even if you think the best part of your life is over – only to be remembered for the rest of your days –
that “best thing” will not be worth remembering in the next life.
That was my thought for the likes of Motley Crue.
Then – I considered that the same will be true for special effects.
Even though we think we get better every year – and each set of movie special effects is better than years before –
they are literally nothing compared to what God can do.
Go outside some night – when there are no clouds and the moon isn’t full.
Someplace with as little light as possible.
And look up.
Isa 40:26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
We’re talking about the God who created all of this.
The stars in the sky.
The planet that’s able to support us – by His power.
The eyes that He placed in our heads.
The unbelievable brain that He put in our heads.
The millions of connections that He determined were essential to run between those eyes and that brain.
The electronic signals that He set up which enable us to see all those stars.
The spirit of life that God breathed into our souls to allow us to be in awe of that night sky.
Our special effects will be unbelievably trivial compared to the real effects that He will have for us.
Even what we see today – if we even give Him credit for them – are totally amazing.
And that’s while we’re separated from Him.
I can’t even imagine what real effects we’ll see when we’re really truly with Him.
And – I can’t wait to find out what they are.