Ordinary People

I recently watched a movie called Ordinary People. It's focus is on the family dynamics after the death of a son. The relationship between the surviving family members captured my attention. I began thinking of a concept presented in my class. No matter a person does, even if married for 50 years, there will still be an aspect of that person that is alone, isolated from any other person. This was showed poignantly in the movie's depiction of the family.

In class we were talking about the tenents of existentialism. Existentialism rests on four concepts/fears that a person has to face at some point in life: isolation, meaning or purpose in life, freedom, and death. In class, we discussed how these premises are a perfect set up for the gospel. I think it's neat to see the comparison and how the gospel is the completion and restoration for these fears.

Isolation ->Christ's restoration and perfect intimacy

Meaning ->There is no meaning apart from the cross.

Freedom -> True freedom is achieved because of the Christ's power to overcome death by his death on the cross and resurrection.

Death -> There is no need to fear death as Christ offers eternal life.

This is the message that needs to be proclaimed to bring true healing to the soul. It is the foundation and can revolutionize a person's life. There is hope in the gospel. And hope is what needs to be conveyed to the client. Thankfully, hope can be conveyed not only by Christian counselors and by pastors, but also by ordinary people.