And with that, the screen goes black and the credits roll.
Flight ends in introspective, open-ended fashion. The question posed prior to these words demands an answer from the viewer. We will never know Whip's (Denzel Washington's character) full response. But that's not important. His life's literal and figurative plane crash play out before your very eyes on the screen. By the movie's end we know enough about him. What question was he asked? And why? Well you'll have to pay the $10 to find out, or wait until it hits redbox.
But before you see Flight, I'd like to explain a few things about it. First, it is Rated R, and for good reason. Scores of scenes with bad language, alcohol, and drugs fill the screen - as well as some very naked women. Incidentally, this is why you must always buy at least a medium sized bag of popcorn at the theater and have your wife close by. That way you can block your face from seeing lewd images and she can tell you when the coast is clear, haha. I normally avoid putting myself in situations like that, but this movie was worth it. Why? Because it succeeds in adequately portraying the plight of humanity living in a post-Fall (Genesis 3) world. G movies can't do this. They can't provide a dark enough backdrop for grace to sufficiently sparkle. The entire movie we watch Whip retreat from the grace that could be his, by denying he has any need for it.
So, all that to say, I strongly suggest you see this movie. You can read ahead if you'd like for a preview of what you're in store for. I'll try and not give away too much. Or you can just watch the movie and then check out the rest of this post to see if you agree or have anything else to add. Right out of the shoot you'll need to stare at your big bag of popcorn for awhile, as Whip's slavery to drugs, alcohol, and sex takes center stage within seconds.
After staying up all night indulging in these formidable vices, Whip reports for duty as a pilot for a commercial airline. He's clearly in no shape to fly, yet his condition health wise is trumped by both the condition of the plane and the weather. The flight was doomed from the beginning. After overcoming extreme turbulence in the early part of the flight due to weather, the plane's equipment malfunction proves insurmountable. Somehow Whip manages to miraculously land the plane in an open field, but not without loss. 6 of the 102 "souls" (this word is used several times) on board perished in the crash landing.
Whip becomes a hero overnight for saving everyone else. What he did in maneuvering the plane prior to taking it down earns him pilot par excellence status in every one's eyes. Except in those of the agency charged with investigating the crash. They must discover the culprit and will leave no stone unturned. While the plane's blame cannot be skirted, they soon discover that Whip was intoxicated as well. The plane flight ends with a crash, and we soon watch Whip's efforts at sobering up follow the same course as he awaits his hearing with the agency.
A few things the movie teaches us as we observe Whip's tailspin:
God is sovereign. You can't walk away from this movie without acknowledging that its makers believe in God. And they present a big God. The kind that controls every aspect of creation and answers to no one. The kind that can send wind and a fish or a plant and worm like in the book of Jonah. God is actively engaged with His creation and nothing happens by accident. Several characters affirm that the crash landing had to have been an "act of God."
Whip doesn't buy this right away however. While hovering over the crash landing site and observing the plane's wreckage, he states, "Whose God would do this?" That's certainly a fair question. Which leads to the next point.
God is gracious. We'll never know why certain events in our lives take place. As the priest in the classic movie Rudy reminds us, "I've come to know two hard facts throughout my life...there is God, and I'm not Him." But as time goes by we can come to understand at least part of the desired result God had in sending certain obstacles our way. Yes God does send obstacles. Again the book of Jonah helps us here. When Jonah flees from His presence in disobedience, God graciously sends a storm and a fish to get him back on course. It's gracious on God's part because He loved Jonah too much to let him remain in a state of defiance.
God's engagement and confrontation of sinners is Him showing grace. Whip certainly didn't deserve this grace...and he didn't ask for it. Yet God gave it to him anyway. If the plane had never gone down, Whip likely would've carelessly continued his descent deeper and deeper into the destructive pit of servitude to sin. But because of the wreck, he's brought face to face with the reality of his harmful addictions. He doesn't like what he sees and he's powerless to set himself free, but he's brought face to face with it nonetheless. God's grace has begun to teach his heart to fear but has not yet been fully embraced so as to relieve his fear. The next point then becomes critical.
God is relentless. You cannot out sin the grace of God, nor can you out run it, if indeed you are a true child of God. The Puritans used to speak of this by depicting God's relentless love for His own by referring to "the hounds of heaven." Even more so than a skilled hunting dog following a scent, God in His relentless love pursues sinners in their sinfulness. He loves us too much to give up on our trail, and will stop at nothing to find us. Even if that means crashing planes. The only hope we have as humans in a fallen state in a fallen world is the truth that our God is more relentless in His love for us than we are in our disobedience to Him. Apart from His pursuit of us we are destined for an eternity apart from Him. And there will be no one to blame but ourselves if we end up there, and no one to thank but God if we are rescued and redeemed.
God relentlessly pursues Whip in spite of Whip. So will he spend his whole life in flight rather than surrendering His life to a sovereign, gracious, and relentlessly loving God? I'm not telling. Just know that we too have the same choice. To fight or flight. Fight the good fight, or flee from God's presence into coping mechanisms to numb us to the pain of living in a fallen world without a Savior. We are all sinners in need of a Savior.
In closing, the only thing different about Christians (or should be different about us) is that we have already given up denying our need for Him. We've embraced His grace and acknowledged our helplessness without Him. And He's blessed our surrender with victory. I pray that all who haven't yet experienced this would confess their sinfulness and then trust in Christ, who paid our ransom with His blood at the cross.
There is true freedom in surrender. Brokenness is something we never like in the moment, but the hope of the gospel is worth our temporary discomfort and vulnerability. In fact we'll never be fully whole until we see Him face to face in heaven. If saved, then brokenness, surrender, and repentance should characterize your life all the more. Because only in rededicating our lives to Him daily can we experience His sweet provision.
Whip's story is your story and it's my story. Christians and non-Christians alike experience the same pull toward to self-sufficiency and idol worship. May we all receive His grace, which meets us right where we are, and calls us to something greater. May our flight be to His divine oasis, rather than to a demonic mirage.
And may our answer to the question asked at the end of the movie be rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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