The Letter

This week’s review is, The Letter, produced by Dave Christiano. The letter is in Season Two of the 7th Street Theater series.

Introduction

The continuing dramatic story of five Christian actors and the weekend stage show they perform for their community.

Episode Description

There wasn’t a description, so here is my own: One of the actors receives a letter from a fan who attends the theatre plays every week.

The Letter

He saw the performances for the 5th week in a row

He says the Lord has had a special touch on her performance

He felt drawn to her in every way and felt like her was fighting the Lord over the decision to contact her

He wanted to encourage her in her ministry, as she was touching the hearts of the audience, including his

He had been praying for a godly Christian woman for many years

He was not married and never had been

He had prayed before writing the letter

It was interesting to see the different reactions about the letter

• The person it was addressed to thought it was a joke

• Some other actors though it was sweet ans sincere

• Some people wanted to read it, but were not allowed to, initially

• Some people made it their goal that day to get to read the letter - such was the height of their curiosity.

• There was one person who didn’t ask to read it - which I found interesting, in the sense that some people don’t want to get caught up in drama. Or maybe he just wanted to respect her privacy.

In the middle of this, there were a couple of sketches that focus on one of the lessons of Jesus, do unto others as you want them to do to you. Luke 6:31 says: And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. Someone in the sketch called it the “Golden rule” and the cab driver corrected them and said it was from the Bible. This made me think of how there are lots of phrases that have their origin from the Bible. For example: Don’t be a doubting Thomas! That comes from when one of the disciples, Thomas, doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead and had to physically see Jesus in the flesh and touch Him, before he believed.

There is also another sketch about following Jesus - not going to the left or the right. I like how 7th Street Theater is able to make simple, yet profound sketches based on the Word of God.

The letter shows how we have to trust God to show us where we need to go, without us forcing our will along the way. It shows how hard it is for us as sinful people to consistently let God be our guide. We don’t always understand why things have to be the way there are - especially in difficult situations. The point is to trust God anyway, though the world encourages us in every way, to take our eyes off Jesus and follow our hearts, which the Lord says, easily deceives us. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

The Letter glorifies God by showing how the character puts God first, even to their own hurt. It shows us a Christian community, the actors of a local theatre, supporting one another, using the Word of God as their foundation. It also shows us how we can use opportunities to show people to Christ.

Did the film encourage my faith?

I have not seen all of the episodes of 7th Street Theater series, but the ones I have seen, like The Letter, encourage my faith. Their plays are well done, yet also display the realism of acting, meaning they are not polished. Some of the actors have been in films that I have reviewed, such as Me and You, Us Forever and Paper Dreams.

Would I change anything about the film?

They spoke of Friday night and Saturday - which would be the Sabbath. Unfortunately the acknowledgement of the Sabbath is absent in most Christian films - because the modern church teaches that Sunday is the day of rest. But we know, by the Word of God, that the Sabbath is the 7th day of the week (Saturday).

SUMMARY

The Letter is a wonderful play about how we must put our trust in the Lord and give him the honour and glory, even when the situation does not make sense to us.

It’s also about salvation and pointing people to Christ, the only way to the Father.

I watched, The Letter, on www.christiancinema.com

Thank you for reading this review. Until next time - peace be with you.