I’d never seen Saving Private Ryan. It came out the summer before my junior year of high school and my mom deemed it “too violent” for me to see. Now it’s sixteen and a half years later and I still hadn’t seen it. A couple of weeks ago I heard a pastor state that Christmas was a “rescue mission”. While I’d heard that concept before, I wanted to get a little more insight. I told Jared that I wanted to watch “Saving Private Ryan”…you know…to get into the Christmas spirit.

If you had a protective mom as well, the basic plot goes as follows:

Tom Hanks plays a talented, seasoned captain during WWII. After barely surviving the beach at Normandy, he is given his next mission: Find a private who is somewhere in enemy territory and bring him home safely to his mom, who has already lost 3 sons in the war. Ryan is a private, the lowest level of the military. He’s not famous & has no major accomplishments, but the US Army Chief of Staff decides it is a top priority to save him. So, despite protests from his small team of men as to whether or not this is a worthy mission, Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) proceeds to carry out the orders.

People die.

A lot of them.

BUT…they DO find Private Ryan (spoiler alert) and attempt to bring him home, although he refuses to abandon his team. After another bloody battle where practically EVERYONE dies, Tom Hanks uses his final breaths to whisper into Private Ryan’s ear: “EARN THIS.” Ryan goes home and lives the rest of his life trying to life a life good enough to warrant the sacrifice that so many made so he could live. The end.

Here’s why this is the greatest Christmas movie of all time:

On Christmas, God parachuted into enemy territory, taking the form of a small baby. He then went on to fight a bloody (mostly unseen) battle to find us and bring us home.  This ultimately ended with his death on a cross. But here’s where the story differs from SPR…and this is MIND-BLOWING. When Jesus is dying for us, he never says, “earn this.” Never. Instead he says things like, “Forgive them” and “It is finished.” So while I do still try to earn the love and sacrifice Christ has made for me…to “live a life worthy of his call” (2 Thessalonians 2:11)…I don’t have to. Even if I never do anything for God in return, he still chooses to love me and stand behind his sacrifice. He doesn’t expect me to earn it. It is finished.

That is the Gospel.

THAT IS CHRISTMAS.

That is what I will be eternally grateful for.

Recently a friend posted the lyrics to “O Holy Night” because they fell fresh on her this year. “Long lay the world in sin and error, pining…then he appeared, and the soul felt its worth.” You see…the story of Private Ryan, the story of Christmas being a rescue mission…that shows our souls their worth. This Christmas, I hope your soul realizes and knows its worth. Even if you feel like a lowly private with nothing to offer…you are ETERNALLY VALUABLE. Christ stands behind his sacrifice and says, “It was worth it.”

MERRY RESCUE MISSION EVERYONE!