The Boy's Heart Needs Adventure

My wife and I took our two oldest boys to see the new Indiana Jones flick last night. We had a blast! The movie, though not the best Indy movie, was good and filled with excitement. I enjoyed watching my 7 year old son as he watched the silver screen. Many times, he was perched on the edge of his seat as the story unfolded before his eyes. Believe me, there were plenty of things for a young boy to see. There were some bad Russian soldiers, a not-so-likeable double or triple agent, ancient graves, indian warriors, sand pits, blow guns, a cool dude on a motorcycle, a crazy man and that wonderful bullwhip Dr. Jones is known for.

As I watched him watch the movie I was transported back in time to the dark ages when I was 7 and seated by my grandfather at the very first silver screen appearance of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I'll never forget watching the scene where Jones is trapped in the room with the ceiling closing in on him and the lady hesitantly placing her hand in the bug-infested goo to pull the release level to free them. You'll remember that she did stop the ceiling from descending only to walk in the room to touch the same booby trap that started it all over again. The most memorable part of that scene is Jones reaching back under the closing door just in the nick of time to snatch his famed fedora from certain death. I remember two foreign gentlemen seated in front of me and they just laughed and laughed and laughed and discussed with great animation the fact that Jones risked his arm for that hat!

We had a great time that night and I had a great night last night. All the way home we heard our 7 year old talk about the whip and what he was going to do when he got his whip. In fact, he woke up this morning asking me where he could get one of those whips. I would say his heart was captivated by what he saw last night just exactly like my heart was captivated by what I saw so many years ago. A boy needs adventure. There is something about the ordinary, mundane, culturized behavior that errodes the soul of a boy and a man. God made men like this. We were made with this desire to subdue the earth and rule the world and have the pretty girl at our sides while we do this. When this desire, this manly desire, is redeemed and harnessed by the Holy Spirit, God has a weapon far greater than anything Indiana Jones ever faced! He has a group of men against whom the gates of hell can NOT prevail. May God help us Chrisitan men recover a sense of adventure in the things of the faith!