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February 11, 2009
Faith : "Come with me if you want to live"
(Please bear with this post – it does make a point to two by the end.)
The title of this post is one of the catch phrases of the "Terminator" series of movies and TV show. In is first spoken by Kyle Reese to Sarah Connor in "The Terminator" as he offers to save her from the robot assassin from the future. In the second movie it is spoken by the "good" terminator twice – once to John Connor and then to Sarah Connor. In the pilot episode of the TV series, it is spoken by "Cameron" (another "good" terminator) to John Connor.
What's I want to explore for a moment is just how much is packed into that eight-word offer.
* The offer implies that there is a danger. What's more, at least in the first film, it is a danger that that the person being spoken to does not understand. In fact it is a danger that no rational person would believe – time traveling robots sent from the future to kill a person before they can do something that brings about the salvation of humanity. Preposterous.* The offer is also fundamentally a request for trust spoken by a party who has not yet earned that trust. The person speaking the phrase is essentially saying "You don't know me; but I need you to trust me when I say that you are in danger and trust that I know how to rescue you". In fact in "Terminator 2", there is a reason to not trust the individual (they look just like someone who wanted to cause harm previously).
* The offer is an offer of an ongoing relationship (in which that trust that was given is now earned). While phrased as a single action, "come with me", what was required was much more than following the person for a couple of hours. The real nature of the offer is "If you want to live, you need to start doing what I say when I say it, my first order being to come with me". In each case, the result of the accepted offer is a relationship (an intimate one in the case of Kyle and Sarah) where one person commits to protect the other in exchange for the other doing what the first says.
* The offer is not a promise of an easy life. In each case, what follows is actually a constant struggle. In fact one of the key themes of the TV series is John Connor struggling with the fact that he can never have a "normal life." Yet for all its travails, the result of the offer is better than the alternative (being assassinated).
So what's the point of all this analysis of a line from a science fiction show?
I was struck the other day reading Dietrich Bonheoffer's "The Cost of Discipleship" as he talked about all that was implied when Jesus said to His disciples-to-be "Come, follow me." In many ways, what Jesus is saying to humanity is "Come with me if you want to LIVE" with all of the same implications as above.
* Jesus warns us that there is danger in this life and in the life to come. This danger is something that people really don't understand and many people consider irrational to believe in (heaven? the devil? preposterous!)* Jesus fundamentally is asking us to trust Him before He has had a chance to prove He is worthy of that trust. Christians call that faith. In fact, many people's preconceived ideas of God make trusting Him difficult (think of the Connors' challenge to trust in Terminator 2).
* Jesus is not looking for a one time action; but an ongoing relationship (in which He earns the trust we have given to Him). He needs us to do what He says when He says it so that we can be protected from the dangers that are out there. That relationship is however intended to be more than just a protector/protectee relationship – Jesus is looking for something more intimate than that.
* Jesus does not promise that the resulting life will be easy, and in fact He promises all sorts of challenges if we follow Him. He does however promise that the results will be better than the alternative.
So, Jesus us saying to us all "Come with me if you really want to live". Who is willing to take Him up on that offer?
Posted by Steven at February 11, 2009 05:00 AM
Comments
I think this is a stretch. In the case of Jesus, He is clearly looking for a relationship and the implication is long-term right from the get-go.
In the case of a stranger walking up to someone and saying, 'come with me...' the duration is immediate time only. A person might do what is asked because of plausibility of a threat. There is no intent of relationship even though one may develop as a series of 'continue to come with me' events occurs.
The show winds up in a similar place because it has the model of that place to co-opt. In real life, the person might 'come with me' but then quickly take actions to distance themselves from what is now the realized threat - you know, move a long distance and change a name and live out life annonymously as Sarah tried to do.
Posted by: roland at February 11, 2009 07:22 AM
