Adventure Is Out There!

Recently my family and I watched a movie in which the main plot was a man who lives mostly in his daydreams until a missing photo leads him to go on a true adventure in search of this valued gift. By the end, after going through challenges that test what he’s made of, the protagonist becomes the man he used to only imagine.

I think we can all relate to wanting to be the hero. We like to imagine saving the day. In a lot of ways, this character represents us.

Maybe this is the reason three truths in the film stood out to me.

You Become Like the Person You Pursue

In chasing down this photo, the main character is actually looking for his old friend. Though they had never met, they had worked together numerous times, one traveling the world as a photographer, the other working day after day for years in a city office.

Yet when the main character—Walter—loses the precious photo, he goes in search of his adventurous friend, who’s always one step ahead of him. In the process, Walter himself begins to change, as he begins to see life from a different perspective.

“Beautiful Things Don’t Ask for Attention”

Finally, after a crazy helicopter ride, a fight with a shark, and just barely escaping a volcano, Walter finds his man deep in the mountains, waiting for another perfect shot.

They sit, crouched, waiting for a rare species to make itself known. This somewhat puzzles Walter, and his photographer-friend explains: “Beautiful things don’t ask for attention.”

Let that sink in. What’s most beautiful often are things that are ever-day, like a sunset, or hidden, like a humble act of kindness. Beautiful isn’t trying to be the center of attention. Rather, it’s not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Matt. 6:3).

It can be easy to be the ones who ask for attention, whether through what we wear or how we act. But what’s beautiful, and this applies to everyone, is not when we ask for attention but when we give that attention as a gift to someone else.

The Person Who Matters Most Sees

I’ll try not to spoil it, but in the last few minutes of the movie, Walter, who at this point has learned not to care and has a better grasp on what’s really important, realizes that the person who mattered most saw what no one else did. He saw value in Walter’s work. He noticed the care he took and the importance of his position in sharing what was beautiful with the world.

As Christians, we live in a similar reality. To continue to Matthew 6:4, “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” This applies not just to giving but fasting, praying, and other habits as well. We can pray in our inner room and trust the outcome because the Person who matters sees.

Overall this film was a reminder of the adventures we can have with God. It may not be what we think we bargained for, but it allows Him to transform us as we seek and follow Him.