I, My Father's Child

Frankenstein

I recently watched the movie “I, Frankenstein”. For those of us who don’t know it, it’s a pretty awesome story about the children’s bedtime story monster Frankenstein who was being hunted down by demons so they could replicate what Dr. Victor Frankenstein his creator, and in some ways his father, had done. He was saved by gargoyles who have been placed on earth by the Archangel Michael to protect mankind from the demons. They want to let these soulless bodies be possessed by demon spirits so they can take over the world but is stopped by Frankenstein. Quite an interesting
movie.

You may ask why a movie with such an obvious storyline could be so interesting. No, it’s not all about the fighting and the good guys winning over the bad guys (that is part of it though). No. it’s actually about how at the end of the movie I was left wondering about the lives of us Christians. (Yes I’m not leaving myself out.) How on earth could an action packed movie move someone to think about Christian life right? And no! It is still not all about the forces of light beating the forces of darkness.

 Frankenstein was very distrustful of humans because for as long as he had lived, all they did was make fun of him (Just a guess), shunned his company and in certain circumstances tried to get rid of him even his own ‘father’. Many did this not because they knew he was a not ‘human’, but simply because he looked different. Many a time have we without hesitation passed such judgment on people just because they look, act or are in any way phantomably different from us. We wouldn’t sit with them, and if we talk to them, it’s only to insult them in one way or another. If they keep to themselves, we’d tease, bully, laugh at them, call them names. Monster. Weird. Crazy. Stupid. Anti-so. You name it. How is this the Christian thing to do? We are Christians and, in the sense of the word, are to act like Christ. We are to listen to His words, the words of our Father, and go according to them. He said in Luke 6:37 “Do not judge, and you shall not be judged. Do not condemn, and you would not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven”. Well, that outcast that was Frankenstein, that freak, was the one that ended up saving the human race from extinction.

The gargoyle queen at one point made it known that God was the giver of life and what Dr. Frankenstein did was wrong. But God allowed it. Granted Frankenstein success in this abominable venture. He could have, in all of Adam’s 200 years, caused some kind of a freaky accident to occur to end his life. But it didn’t. This, she explained to her right-hand man Gabriel, meant God had a purpose for Adam, Frankenstein’s monster. She also told Adam something quite similar. She told him all he had to do was find out what it was. And he did in the end which earned him a soul. Everyone on this earth, including that "weirdo" you always make fun of, has a purpose in life. And one way or another that purpose affects other people. Fulfilling that purpose might be that something someone needs to make it. Fulfilling your purpose of being a pastor and preaching the word might just be what that boy/girl needs to draw closer to God. You fulfilling your purpose and becoming a doctor, a writer, a teacher, a lawyer, etc. may give someone the inspiration they need not to turn away from God. To be steadfast in his word and wait on him and they shall be saved as long as they believed in it. That cancer you had and survived may strengthen someone so they would believe all is well. Do you know your purpose in life? Are you doing all you can to fulfill it? If not what are you waiting for? If you don’t know your purpose, are you looking? Where are you looking? Is it the right place?

At the end of the movie, Frankenstein made a monologue, one line in it caught my attention. ‘I, my father’s son’. The reason why that line is of interest is that, it in many ways captures simply the strongest message in the bible. That we are our Father's children. God's children. Adam (Franksnstein) had never wished to acknowledge that Dr. Frankenstein (his creator) was his father. When the demon prince, Naberius, called him Frankenstein, he immediately denied the name saying his name was Adam. According to him, he hated his creator. Many people have been in this situation and are still going through it. Some people have come a long way from loving God and believing in Him to being able to say they hate God or worse, there is no God. It is up to us to be like the gargoyles and help these people regain their faith. To let those around us know that we serve a living God. To let our lights so shine unto men (Matt. 5:16). There’s also the side where Frankenstein finally realized he did have a purpose and embraced it. With that embraced that there was a God, and possibly the idea of a heavenly father. This tells us there’s hope for unbelievers. To come to believe in our Father. Also to you out there who out of neglect or by the cold hands of death have been cheated out of a parent or both, remember that you have a Heavenly Father who loves you beyond measure, let you survive all this while because of this love moreover because he has a purpose for your life beyond measure. God bless you. I shall end with Adam’s monologue (or quote, whatever you want to call it, some of which has no relevance here but……. Oh well….)

We do not ask for the lives we are given but each of us have the right to defend that life I have fought to defend mine And when the forces of darkness return You shall know that I am out there Fighting to defend yours I, ‘descender’ of the demon hoard I, my father’s son I, Frankenstein