King Kong's enormity is emphasized next to the smallness of something we would perceive to be average sized (i.e. this person). What this does is allow the filmmakers to show how big or how great something is instead of saying it or perhaps when words can't adequately describe it.
As another example, I could describe Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer (The Executor) from The Empire Strikes Back using facts and figures. I could provide measurements or tell you that it is tens (or even hundreds) of times larger than most of the other spaceships we've seen in Star Wars. Or I could just show you this scene.
The shot of the whole ship is almost superfluous after seeing how insignificant a regular Star Destroyer looks compared to the Executor's massive underbelly. What gives you a better sense of the Executor, knowing that it is 19,000 meters long or seeing its vast shadow slowly engulf another spaceship in this scene?
I have been thinking and reflecting on this since this weekend's church service, which was about prayer and included a section on the glory of God (this links to where the point starts, but I'd recommend watching the whole thing if you have time).
As Pastor Adam mentions, God's glory can be one of the more difficult terms to grasp. He defines it as the "representation of the awesomeness of the character and the wonder of the Creator God." John Piper shares the sentiment when he says, "the glory of God is the manifestation of his holiness." It is not the awesomeness or the holiness itself, but rather the display and/or expression of those qualities. This is not to diminish God's glory, as we see in Exodus that even the faintest glimpse of the tail end of it caused Moses' face to shine brightly.
So given this, what should our reaction to God's glory be or what should our relationship to it be like? I believe considering scale in film can help us understand this a bit more.
1. Our purpose is the glory of God
So I think it's pretty obvious that the objects/people in the foreground of the examples above are just there to enhance the size of what is beyond them. As an unnecessary extra example, look at the cover of Pacific Rim, mostly because I really enjoyed Pacific Rim.
That giant fighting robot looks pretty cool right? And it would still look pretty cool if it was the only thing on the cover. The little girl in front, which you might not even notice on your first look, has no reason to be there except that her presence shows you that the jaeger isn't just some guy in a suit, but actually a gigantic machine.
Similarly, our purpose on earth is not to make much of ourselves, but to glorify God.
(Emphasis mine on the verses below)
Isaiah 43:6b-7
bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies--in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
I think it's both helpful and necessary to remember why we are here and what our proper place in relation to God and His glory is. After all...
2. God's glory is intrinsic, regardless of what we do
As Christians, we often use the phrase "give glory to God" or variations of it. You don't have to go far to find a video of a professional athlete doing the same thing, usually after a victory.
But I have to remind myself that it's not the typical way we use the word "give." It is ridiculous to think that I, as a small human being, can meaningfully transfer any of my nonexistent glory to the almighty God. I can attribute glory to Him or celebrate it or proclaim it, but I could clearly not actually add to it.
The size of the jaeger in Pacific Rim or the Executor in The Empire Strikes Back is accentuated by, not dependent on, the smaller objects in front of them. If this isn't readily apparent, I've included two shots of the Executor. One with Star Destroyers for reference, and the other with the smaller ships (poorly) removed.
Likewise God's glory simply is and abounds on earth. We must be careful not to confuse the fact that our purpose is to glorify God with the misguided idea that we can somehow take any credit for it.
Isaiah 6:3
And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"
Acts 12:24-25
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.God's glory is reality whether or not we are willing to admit it. We can be thankful that even though we do not possess even a fraction of God's glory for ourselves, in His love and mercy, He has allowed us to take part in it. But in order to do that, we must remember that...
3. We must intentionally acknowledge and point to God's glory
It's somewhat redundant with the first point, but I think it's moreso a logical followup rather than repetition. After all, things are not used for their proper purpose all the time.
In keeping with the theme, let's look at this recent poster for the new Power Rangers movie:
Looks pretty neat right? Giant robots with trees in front for scale. Except that while that might be why they are there, they fail miserably. Look at the poster again, with a slight change I've made.
I moved the Yellow Ranger in the Zord down to where the trees are. You can see that for whatever reason, the Ranger's upper torso is about as big as that entire treetop. Now unless in this reboot the Power Rangers are like 20 feet tall (which I would not put past a movie studio), someone goofed up. The trees in the foreground are not conveying the proper sense of scale. In fact, they are making the wrong thing look too big!
How easy is it for us, for me, to do this exact same thing? There are so many opportunities to give glory to someone or some thing that is not God. It wasn't hard for me to find myself calling people or things great.
Great career Peyton #SB50— matt leung (@mleung89) February 8, 2016
Great @TheAmericansFX— matt leung (@mleung89) June 2, 2016
Hooooooooooooooly crap I've never seen a real breakup on this show before, this is great #Bachelor— matt leung (@mleung89) February 26, 2014
Anyways...
You get the idea. Of course this is not to say that we can't or shouldn't give compliments, but we must remember that God is worthy and the object of our ultimate praise. Without that, we lose perspective and can be fooled into thinking we are good or sufficient on our own.
We might see ourselves like this Star Destroyer. Reasonably menacing by itself. A big ship compared to the small Tie Fighters flying around it. But this misses what the shot actually looks like.
Although God will have His glory regardless of what we do, that does not give us an excuse to leave Him out of the picture. It would be foolish for a filmmaker to shoot a scene ignoring the most important and significant object in the shot, and it is foolish when we live our lives that same way.
1 Chronicles 16:23-24
Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
1 Corinthians 10:31
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.Everything we do on this earth points to Him. Our successes are a reflection of God's surpassing greatness. Our failures are a reminder of His perfection and grace.
There are many other questions that should be asked, like a further dive into why we glorify God or how we can even do so, and of course I don't want to pretend that I have made any kind of comprehensive or original look at the glory of God. But I hope that it is at least a useful starting point to start asking more and deeper questions. That's what this weekend's message was for me, and maybe this can be that for you.
Helpful links:
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-glory-of-god-as-the-goal-of-history
http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/glory/
http://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/the-glory-of-god/
