“Evan Almighty” Might Reveal Mighty Truth

Originally published in The Daily Sentinel, July 6, 2007

Earlier this week, I went to see “Evan Almighty” at the Kanauga Drive-In. I rationalized that it could be part of my sermon preparations for this Sunday. I am preaching on Noah and the Flood from Genesis 7, so I thought it would be a good idea to see how Hollywood has reinterpreted that story in a 21^st century context.

If you haven’t seen “Evan,” I don’t want to spoil the story for you. But let me tell you this much: Evan Baxter, who was the guy competing for the Buffalo TV news anchor position in “Bruce Almighty,” has been elected to the U.S. Congress. He moves from Buffalo to the Virginia suburbs with his wife and three sons.

Just as Evan is getting settled in as a freshman congressman, mysterious things start happening. His alarm clock goes off each morning at “Gen 6:14.” His congressional car tags are “GEN 614,” and one of his campaign volunteers has a baby who weighed 6 lbs 14 oz. at birth. Eventually, Evan realizes they are all codes for a Bible verse: Genesis chapter six, verse 14: “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch (KJV).

More happens: A set of wooden carpenter tools arrives on the front steps. Lumber is delivered to the house (from 1-800-GO-4-WOOD) without being ordered. Evan is flustered and frustrated – then God shows up. “There’s gonna be a flood,” says God, “and I want you to build an ark.”

Evan resists. Funny things happen. Then Evan stops fighting and starts cooperating. But that only makes his life both funnier and more difficult. If you want to know how the story ends, go see the movie for yourself. Like I said, I don’t want to spoil it for you.

Following the movie, I was left with two thoughts:

1) Following God can be a risky thing. Whether it’s Noah in the antiquity of Genesis, or Evan in 21^st century America, God makes demands that are often hard to follow. God can make things risky for you and me, too. Can I really afford to tithe when gasoline costs over $3 a gallon? When Jane and Jill and Jennifer come over and talk about how awful Mary has been, am I willing to risk saying gossip is wrong? When Sam wants me to pay him in cash so he can avoid paying income tax, will I tell him no?

2) Following God is ultimately a rewarding thing. Noah experienced the covenant of the rainbow and the resurrection of life on the earth following the Flood. Evan experienced …. Well, I don’t want to give it away!

What about your experience? What about mine? Sometimes we experience blessings and rewards in the right now – sometimes we don’t recognize them until much later. But ultimately, every person who genuinely follows Jesus Christ and professes him as Savior will receive the ultimate reward of salvation.

God didn’t promise Noah that following God would make Noah’s life easier. God didn’t promise that to Evan; and God doesn’t promise that to us. What God does promise is to be present with us through the risks, the troubles, the broken relationships, the cancers and disasters that may come our way.

We are like Evan. When we’re flustered and frustrated, God shows up. But are we too self-absorbed in our troubles to notice? Look for the small things that show God’s presence: a smile, a hug, an act of random kindness. And do the things that show God’s presence: a smile, a hug, an act of random kindness. Interesting, those lists are the same!