I took the afternoon off today to do some things with the family. One of those things was go with the boys to see ‘Robots’. The boys enjoyed the film while I wondered how many times can you recycle the same type of story. You all know the story – nice/good character pushed aside by nasty/evil character, only to be saved (along with the whole community/world/creation) by small insignificant character.

The story is repeated in children’s films over and over again. As I sat awaiting the inevitable success of the powerless insignificant idealistic robot I found I started to laugh at myself. Here I was challenging the same old story but hearing God challenge my surprise.

After my challenge I saw God in the film. I saw God in the powerless one making a difference in the world. I saw God in the one who dared to dream of an alternative way of life. I saw God in the one who was not prepared to give up until the injustice had been put right.

Although the story was familiar, I found God there again. I then found myself asking if God was indeed trying to talk to his creation through films generally. The common theme, the predictable outcomes, the stories we love to hear over and over again; could it just be God trying to break through to our world in a way that we can see and hear him?