8-13-2020

C. Hayden

 

This past weekend I had the opportunity to catch one of my favorite 1950s monster movie characters on the television. It was “The Creature”! You know, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, to be exact. It was a particularly hokey flick being the 3rd installment of that monster movie franchise titled, “The Creature Walks Among Us” (1956). That generation just could not get enough of this terrifying xenomorph in the previous two films including the original “The Creature From the Black Lagoon” (1954) and its sequel, “Revenge of the Creature” (1955).

 

In “The Creature Walks Among Us,” the Creature or “Gill Man”, is taken from his natural habitat and imprisoned in the world of human beings. A scientist (there is always a scientist involved), experiments on the Gill Man and removes said gills, giving him lungs so that the monster is transformed into an air breather and no longer a water breather. This gives him the ability to, as the title of the movie suggests, walk among us. Does this remind us of anything? I think you know where I am going with this. The only difference in this film from its, obvious to me, coming of the Lord Jesus’ first advent, is the Creature is inundated with human faults and failings. The monster begins to experience and act on people’s fear, anger, hate, jealousy, pride, greed, and all manner of sinful emotional displays. The plot is then revealed as the Creature becomes violent over and over again as result of being exposed to these human failings.

 

The Bible reveals a somewhat different scenario. The Word of God reveals to us that the Son of God, Jesus, humbled Himself willingly, took on human form and, for the purpose of saving us from these human failings (SIN), walked among us that we might become like Him; not vice versa. John 1:10-12 says this, “10 He was in the world, and through the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11 He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. 12 Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, the Creature from his home against his will to become like us and live with us, Jesus willing left His home to walk among us. And Jesus still walks among us in order to make us like Him and to take us back to His home in glory. Oh what a great day that will be. 

 

Be blessed even more,

Pastor Chris