Inoue-sama tried every means to get the last missionary in Japan to give up his faith, and even let the apostate Father Ferrera come forward to persuade him. Rodriguez was willing to be martyred, but Inoue-sama's most cruel way was to execute Catholics one after another in front of Rodriguez, and blame the priest for the sin. In the suffocating series of brutal persecution and death, God has remained silent. This is what makes Rodriguez the most painful. He has to wonder if he is really praying to nothingness. When the last moment came, Rodriguez was surrounded by five devotees who were hanging in the cave, poured out, blood slowly flowing into the cave, convulsing in pain.
Father Rodriguez had to choose between a dilemma: either stick to the faith and let five believers who have given up their faith die, and he himself will die; or step on the statue of Jesus and become Japanese. Facing the statue under his feet, Rodriguez, who was in great pain, finally heard a voice: "Come on, it doesn't matter, step on it, I understand your pain, I came to this world just to share people's pain, to You have to share your pain to bear this cross, and now your life is connected with me. Step on it." After stepping on the statue of Jesus, Rodriguez fell to the ground and wept bitterly.
Although this film was written for Catholics, it can be said that the moment Rodriguez stepped on the statue, he truly understood Jesus and became a Christian. A missionary who came to Japan after untold hardships, even if he can die heroically for the faith in his heart, he may not really understand the meaning of faith and exalt Jesus. He just lives and dies for that ideal in his heart. And Jesus' redemption is so simple: come, step on me, and let me bear your pain. Because man does not know God, he can only do his best to live in this turbulent world by himself. Death is like a huge net that surrounds us with nowhere to escape. Although God has been silent for a long time, He still speaks, and when He speaks, we are completely free. Because we no longer need to rely on ourselves, we no longer need to linger, we no longer need to fear death. Rodriguez gave up the faith, it was only the faith he was taught before, the faith he had to uphold; but when Rodriguez set foot on the statue of Jesus, he experienced God's grace and gained new life. Since then, he has been connected to God, and even though he can no longer pray and can no longer be a priest, he will always be a disciple of Jesus and a free man forever.
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Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14: 6"
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In "Job", Job, who has experienced hardships, questioned God: where are you, why are you giving me birth In this world, let me suffer so much? All the answers from Job's good friends failed to convince Job, because they were not God. What Job wanted to challenge was also the question that Rodriguez struggled with, that is, why is God silent? Finally, when God answered Job in the whirlwind, Job was finally released, and he repented and said, "I heard about you before, but now I see you with my own eyes. "Actually, it wasn't that Job saw God, but God finally spoke. He saw God's faithfulness and God's grace. The master of this world finally came back and finally spoke, and Job no longer needed to rely on his own beliefs. And to live, he only needs to rely on God to live. Whether it is life or death, whether it is good or bad, God will decide everything.
When can we put down our religion, put down our masks, put down our crutches, and come to Before the eternal God, sincerely repent to him and bow down?
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