Hacksaw Ridge
I watched Mel Gibson’s 2016 movie, Hacksaw Ridge over the weekend.
As each moment unfolded, I was reminded of what separated David from so many other would-be heroes. His faith is what made the difference.
Desmond Doss, the hero of the film and more importantly, the real-life hero of Hacksaw Ridge also had unwavering faith. That faith saved the lives of 75 men and united a battalion.
David and Desmond Doss have similar backstories: outcasts, gangly, loners who don’t know their place in the world. Both characters survived by their faith.
Imagine, a skinny runt of a child becoming a king? Imagine a Conscientious Objector in the Second World War becoming a hero that saves the very people that jeered at him?
We can hear the anguish in both of these men in Psalm 69:21:
“They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst..”
David was laughed at by the town drunks and then hunted down to be killed by his own King. Desmond was jeered at and beaten by fellow soldiers in his battalion because he would not pick up arms against the enemy in wartime. Both men were strong enough to endure the horrors of war and did so by faith alone.
David’s faith in God is the cornerstone of Western Civilization. Bringing the Ark of the Covenant in from the desert and his joyous dance into Jerusalem with it represents an unshakable relationship with God.
Desmond Doss’s refusal to carry arms into one of the bloodiest theatres of war in the Pacific also is a point of faith.
Imagine that strength of conviction – hard to fathom these days.
At the movie’s end, the entire Battalion waits as Desmond prays before moving out on patrol.
The soldiers can’t come near to Desmond’s strength of conviction but they recognize it and respect it.
David would be proud
Robert
Leave a Reply