Self Reliant Blindness

The Clip is from the film The Four Feathers, starring Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, and Kate Hudson. This scene depicts the two main characters Jack (Bentley) and Harry (Ledger) reuniting after a major battle in the Sudan. Jack and Harry are officers in the British Forces and they were ordered to march against the Mahdi armies. Harry overwhelmed by fear, resigned his commission and was discharged before the British Army deployed for the Sudan. As token of his cowardice, his best friends and fiancée gave him four feathers. Having lost the respect of his peers and being subjected to cruel shunning Harry decides to go to Sudan and watch over his friends. Inevitably a great battle takes place and many of Harry's friends are killed, wounded, and captured. Harry finds Jack, who's eyes have been burned out by a fuse from his rifle. It is in this moment that I found a parable.

It is important to know that Jack is a self reliant man. He has earned prestige and renown by his own merit. He forsakes his friendship with Harry and leads his regiment into battle. We are like Jack, blinded by our self reliance. We abandon God and march in the name of an empire or whatever ambitious desire that drives us. Finally when we are crippled and collapsing we realize that our path has lead us astray and we cry "I'm blind! I can't see!" It is in this moment Jesus Christ comes to our aid and holds us in our despair. He reminds us how much we need our dearest friend and savior. We cry out to him, "who are you?" For the believer this is rhetorical, but for the unbeliever an earnest question. Christ doesn't respond, he merely cradles us in his arms.

Later in the film Jack and Harry reunite under better circumstances. At first there is some superficial dialogue, but then Jack touches Harry's face and realizes it was him in the desert that day he lost his sight. Jack has the epiphany that his friend stood by him and held him in his darkest hour. In the same way we come to realize that it was Christ who came to our rescue during our storm and that now we have a chance to resume our friendship with him.

The Four Feathers shows what it looks like to lay down ones life for his friends. Jesus said, "that there is no greater love than when a man lays down his life for his friends." (John 15:13). Harry does this. He puts his life on the line multiple times to save his friends. In this way, Harry represents Christ, because only Immanuel has laid down his life for us as much as Harry did for his friends.

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