Rewinding the 'Rewind'🎬✍️

I'm impressed at how they incorporated the Lord Jesus Christ ("Lods") into the movie sequences of "Rewind," an MMFF entry for 2023. The film did well in showcasing God as He truly is. Isa-isahin po natin.

As of this writing and while you are reading this blog, we both have what we need: a beating heart, oxygen to breathe, the strength to move, and the reason to exist, all because of God, The 'Life-Giver' (Acts 17:28). We have family, jobs, homes, and everything else because of Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides and supplies us with all things. In the movie, John (Dingdong Dantes) has these blessings: a good wife, a son, a friend, a career, a big house, etc. But he prioritizes his work over his family and, worst, fails to recognize God as the source of all he has. And since God is the Giver of everything, HE also has the authority to withhold or even take all away from us for His own sovereign purpose, which leads me to another facet of God...⬇️

God is sovereign. All that we are and all that we have are solely in God's hands. Despite bouts of terrible adversity, if God wills us to still be alive, we'll certainly survive. But nothing can stop God from taking us home if and when He decides we're done with this life! In the movie, neither John nor the doctors can save Mary (Marian Rivera) from dying in a car accident. Because, again, God alone has authority and control over our lives.

“The Lord brings death and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and raises up.-Samuel 2:6

“See now that I Myself am He! There is no God besides Me. I put to death, and I bring to life - Deuteronomy 32:39

We view God as our Father, and as His children, He cannot refuse to give us our heart's utmost longing, especially when He sees us hurting and in painful regrets (like John). In desperation, John noticed God (in the picture) for the first time. But rather than a flicker of admiration for who God is, John ridiculed God for his miseries. But God understands the depths of our affliction, and still His love for us remains, so He does not condemn. Seeing tears of sorrow streaming down John's face and his willingness to set things right with Mary, the Lord cannot turn down the yearning of such a penitent heart. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not (Lamentations 3:22–23). And the Lord granted John's plea to have Mary again, sparing him from the excruciating loss of his wife. The truth is, God always readily gives us opportunities to change our evil ways, not just once or twice, but many times over, because He is the God of Many Chances!

Time is God's most valuable gift to us, but John uses it with the wrong priorities. Work consumes him, and his wife and son come last on his list. Suddenly, Mary died. John was devastated, unable to process the tragic event. Then reality struck, and the sense of guilt was too much to take. He regretted the thought of all the wasted time he ought to have spent with Mary. How is he going to make up for everything he did wrong as a husband that caused her death? There are no more chances to love her. She is now gone.

Thankfully, the God of the Bible, who performed miracles like raising the dead to life, is still the God we know today. The ever 'Unchanging God'. Yet, in the movie, God did not revive Mary from the dead; instead, HE permits John to travel back in time to Mary's last day, allowing John the chance to be with his wife once more, or referred to as 'redeeming the time,' something only God can perform. God granted John this gift to compensate for the time he lost with Mary and to fix his broken identity as a spouse. Know that God is not just our restorer, who heals broken people and situations, but also our redeemer.

While there isn't a single account in the Bible about someone traveling back in time, just consider the prophets, to whom God gave visions or carried them to heaven so they could give an account of what they saw. Some had near-death experiences wherein their souls crossed to eternity and went to heaven and hell, and God enabled them to return to the earth to share their stories. These real-life events speak of God's another attribute as the 'All-Powerful, Almighty God, the God of the Impossible, the God of All Possibilities' who can make anyone journey back in time if He wills (like what HE did to John).

Our kids knew Optimus Prime or Bumble Bee as the Transformers. But, in reality, 'God is the Transformer/The Change-Maker.' The sudden death of Mary brought John to his senses. He became aware of how he took his wife for granted. Recognizing his wrongs as a husband, John was deeply heartbroken and regretful. And that was his turning point. He learned to acknowledge the Lord's sovereignty. He bent his pride, humbled himself, and begged the Lord Jesus as he said, "Lord, please, babawi ako sa asawa ko," while offering his life in exchange for Mary's. It's amazing how God changes people. From being the self-centered and uncaring that he was, God made John a selfless and loving husband, making his priorities right as a family man. It's simply unfortunate that John had to go through the heartbreaking ordeal of losing his wife to realize what matters most in life. But it is in our brokenness, when we hit rock bottom, that God meets us and initiates His life-transforming work in us as we surrender to Him. Consequently, John became the good (or rather godly) spouse to Mary during the redeemed time, even teaching her the virtue of placing her trust in the Lord.

But this is only a film. Actually and throughout history, someone really saved us from spiritual death, being held captive by the devil as a result of our wrongdoings—and that someone is Jesus. We were not rescued with gold or silver or hundreds of millions or billions or trillions of funds, like the way you would use cash to get back your pawned items at a pawnshop. But Jesus redeemed us by using His own sinless and holy blood, which He shed on the cross to prove our worth and reconcile us to Him. In the film, John plead with the Lord Jesus to take his own life instead of Mary's. So, John dies, while Mary lives. Jesus did the same thing: He died so we could live. Praise, honor, and glory be to Jesus for His redeeming and saving grace.

The movie is about:

A prayerful son who trusts in the Lord. (Austin)

A devoted wife who quietly embraces her self-absorbed husband (Mary)

A narcissistic husband who is sorry for his sins (John)

And the Lord Jesus who redeemed the time in an answer to the prayer of a repentant man (Lods / Lord Jesus Christ)

Ang pelikulang pinauwi akong luhaan, mugto ang mata pero nakangiti dahil sa ganda😆

A movie worth watching!🫰