Lion Hearted

“The bow of Jonathan was powerful, and the sword of Saul did its mighty work. They shed the blood of their enemies and pierced the bodies of mighty heroes. How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan! They were together in life and in death. They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.” – 2 Samuel 1:22-23.

I hope you have seen the touching film Lion that tells the true story of a five-year-old boy from a desperately poor village in central India, who through a tragic series of mishaps, gets lost and separated from his family. Surviving life on the streets of Calcutta, many hundreds of miles away from home, he is eventually taken to an orphanage. Before long, the boy, who is called Saroo, is adopted by an Australian couple. Saroo adapts well to his new country and his new family.

The heart of the film is the story of Saroo’s search for his birth mother that he begins while attending college. Drawing on memories of his early childhood, and using Google Earth to try to identify the landscapes, landmarks, and location, he searches for his childhood village. The search took years. Eventually, after years of maddening Internet-driven searching, Saroo locates his childhood village through Google Earth.  And with the blessing of his Australian family, he travels to India to find his birth mother, who amazingly is there, has stayed put, and has not stopped hoping that her long-lost son would someday return.

Through this process, Saroo discovers that he was loved and wanted from both his birth family as well as his adopted family. In John 14, Jesus is talking to His disciples and in John 14:18 He reassures His followers: “No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.” He is talking about the Holy Spirit and answering a question that the disciples probably had – what will become of us when you have gone?

I suppose that like Saroo, there have been times when we are lost, without any idea which way home is. But I hear Jesus speaking to His disciples, and I know that he is speaking to me and to you. “I will not abandon you as orphans.”  In the film, the couple who adopted Saroo told him, “We wanted the two of you (Saroo and his brother who was also adopted). That’s what we wanted. We wanted the two of you in our lives. That’s what we chose.”  We know God feels the same way. By dying on the cross for our sins, Jesus Christ proves that He wants us in His life.

We are the children God wanted, the children God always wanted, the chosen objects of His love and His sacrifice. And nothing will ever separate us from that love.

Discussion Questions:

1. What stood out as the main points/highlights in the movie?
2. Are there aspects of the story that resonated with your own experience or with the experience of others in a similar situation?