Last Sunday evening, my wife was putting our two boys to bed, however I wasn’t quite ready to turn in yet.  Maybe it was the “spring ahead” time change that happened the same weekend.  Or maybe it was a long, 22-hour work effort the day before as my company was putting out one of our quarterly software releases.  You know the feeling….when you’re just SO tired…that you can’t even get to sleep?  Strange, I know.

Anyway, I was looking to see what movies might be On Demand and I came across a film I hadn’t heard about before…..it’s called “The Song” and if I told you who stars in it, you’d give me a puzzled look, just as I did when I was reading the summary on the television screen.  Anyway, as a lover of most music genres, but certainly country music, the overview described the plot of the son of a famous country singer, who falls in love with a beautiful young woman, and the story of the rise & fall of stardom.

That’s the “elevator pitch” overview.  However, here’s a little more on what I want to share with you having watched this great film with my wife.

First, it’s a Christian-themed film that was independently released in 2014. Still don’t remember the movie?   Not surprising as the film came out sandwiched between two “bigger” Christian themed movies, Noah and Exodus.  The main character is an aspiring singer-song writer named “Jed”.  Jed is the son of a famous country singer named “David King”, who has sense passed on, but Jed is continuously compared to his more famous father.  Jed really wants to be his own man, but realizes that he needs to leverage his father’s notoriety for traction in his own budding career.

Jed is getting mediocre singing gigs where audiences at best are around 25 people.  His manager suggests that Jed consider playing at a larger venue than he’s used to….a county festival, of sorts, in a neighboring town.  Jed reluctantly agrees.  In the next scene of the movie, we find Jed showing up early for the festival, making the necessary coordination for the show he’s to perform later that evening.  Enter “Rose” into the movie.  She’s Jed’s main contact for the festival, but also the festival owner’s daughter.  If ever there was a classic example of stumbling into something or someone unexpected, then this is it for Jed.  In the midst of his own efforts to find himself, he finds Rose….which leads to romance, courtship, and eventual marriage.

So far, so good for this Christian-based film, right?

Next, Jed gets his big break when he writes a beautiful ballad about his new bride, Rose, and it strikes a positive chord with fans across the country. Jed’s stock rises, as does his time away from home.  2-week tours, become 2-month tours, and before he realizes it, Jed is spending more time on the road than he is with is new bride and now, new son.  As Jed yearns for growing fame and success, he drifts away from his family and his values.  He becomes lost in all that is suddenly surrounding him.

The story reaches a crescendo as Jed admits to Rose that he’s been unfaithful to her while he’s been away.  She kicks him out of the house and tries to put the pieces back together of their failing marriage.  Pressures mount all around.  Jed even destroys the windows of a small church he is building for them on her father’s vineyard.  Symbolism is huge in this film.  Jed is destroying the church, his faith, and attempting to burn the bridge with God.

I won’t give away all the story lines.  I’d really like you to watch the movie, if I haven’t sold you on it already.

Finally, and most importantly, the story is a modern day version of the tale of King Solomon, complete with many overtones of the Song of Solomon.  Remember who I said was Jed’s famous father….?  David King.  Flip that around for a moment and you see one of the hidden overtones….”King David”, who was Solomon’s father from Biblical times.  Early on in the movie, Rose’s self-admission that she has but one favorite song, “Turn, Turn, Turn” by the Byrds, indicates yet another parallel to the Bible; more specifically, Ecclesiastics.  Recall the lyrics of that song taken nearly verbatim from Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastics:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

These lyrics and Biblical passage are key to the healing that takes place later in the story.

Grab some time this coming weekend or the days ahead to watch this film.  While this week’s devotional may be lighter in meaning to some, my prayer today is that you find a way to see The Song, look and listen for the Biblical narratives, and apply them as lessons in your own lives.

And, if you decide you like country music at the end of the movie, then I really have struck the best chord with you afterall!  Then again, maybe that’s asking a little too much!

Peace!