I’m a big fan of classic horror movies. Ghosts and monsters don’t scare me. The ludicrous plots, poor set design, low production value, and predictable otherworldly antagonists are campy and funny. These movies make for lighthearted entertainment and a great escape from the far more frightening realities of the the world we live in. My wife and I do watch contemporary horror movies from time to time, but recently these started making me feel uneasy and oftentimes leave me feeling upset without any real reason I can pinpoint.
I dwelt on this a bit and realized that contemporary horror movies rarely feature supernatural antagonists any more and often the cause of the ‘horror’ is normal people acting horrifically in realistic settings. I started to realize that the reason these movies upset me is because they represent a plausible, albeit harrowing, reality that could come to pass — more so now in a time where we are facing a global pandemic that until recently could only have been imagined by a Hollywood director.
Ghouls and goblins give way to teenagers in masks that violently torture and murder strangers and maniacs that capture and molest the vulnerable and indigent. Horror movies have stopped being escapist fantasies in which the light always beats the darkness in the end. The realistic portrayals of debased human nature leave me feeling hollow and cold.
I don’t now what God’s opinion is of horror movies, but I do know that from time to time he shows me equally unsettling things. Things, that like the contemporary horror movies, leave me feeling shaken and distressed. Visions of loss, pain and despair in which those close to me become a cast of victims. Not victims of a deranged axe-wielding maniac, but of a life in which God’s grace is absent. What the holy spirit is attempting to make me aware of is the presence of God’s grace in our daily lives. He says, “Can you not see God? Are you still looking for a sign of God’s work in your life? Here is what it looks like when God’s grace, his very presence, is absent!”. These visions are a hundred times more horrific than any horror movie could ever be as they are ‘real’ — they are a reality in which God has withdrawn his grace from our lives.
This personal revelation has changed everything in my spiritual life. I am no longer praying for help or guidance or signs — I now thank God for his subtle presence in our lives. He layers our reality with his blessings and grace, and thereby keeping the horror at bay.
Until next time, switch off the TV and switch on your grace-filled life!