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Insights:
The climax of the film, 3:10 To
Yuma, takes place in a town called Contention.
Contention is the main theme of the movie: men in
contention with one another, men in contention with powerful
worldly systems like the railroad and men in contention with
God.
The story focuses on the lives
of two men who are thrown together by circumstance. On
the outside they appear very different. Ben Wade is a
charismatic outlaw while Daniel Evans is a man of faith and
family. Inside the men share two things in common;
both are in a private war with the powerful railroad and
both have a personal quarrel with God. The journey to
Contention changes both men and, in an unconventional way,
sets both men free.
Ben Wade
Ben Wade's battle with the
railroad and with God began the day his mother abandoned
him in a railroad station. Instead of getting the
promised train ride to a new life, he was left alone and
told to read the Bible. From this wound comes a life of
striking back at the railroad with a twisted sort of
vengeance. He uses a fancy Colt and calls it "The
Hand of God".
Daniel Evans
Daniel Evans, the man of
faith and family, has his own quarrel with God and the
railroad. For three years he has prayed to God for
the drought to end. The absence of rain means no
water for his cattle and makes him vulnerable to an
unscrupulous profiteer who wants his land for the
railroad. He is a desperate man who is reduced to
begging and is losing the respect of his wife and son.
The Journey
Two wounded men - one much
like the prodigal son1
spending life in the indulgences of whiskey, women,
gambling and guns; the other much like the older brother
always doing the right thing, but growing in resentment
and bitterness. Two men thrown together on a
journey, contending with one another, yet forced into
helping one another in order to survive. Along
this road they encounter evil and corrupt men on both
sides of the law. The most thought provoking
question being asked in this film is, "Who is really
good and who is really evil?"! The obvious answer
is one you can't tell by externals; it is a question
that goes much deeper and deals with the heart.
Contention
The hotel room scene in
Contention is the most powerful one in the movie.
All the men guarding Wade except Daniel bail out.
Daniel chooses to remain. He chooses to risk and,
if necessary, sacrifice his life for the sake of his son
and family. Why? Because he loves them, and
he sees his own life continuing on in his son. It
is after he makes this choice that the rain is seen over
Bisbee; the drought in Daniel's life is over.
The power of Daniel's love
and sacrifice is not lost on the one carefully observing
him. Ben Wade gets a new perspective on God and
draws it on the front page of a Bible. Don't lose the
restoration in this simple act. His new picture of
God is Daniel, a father who will lay his own life down
for the family he loves. It replaces the old
picture of a vengeful God coming out of his abandonment
wound.
Ben Wade finally gets on a
train - the ride being purchased by the sacrifice of
Daniel Evans. He willingly gives up "The Hand of
God" after "laying his demons to rest". The
movie's ending may not satisfy everyone. The
question remains, "What did Ben Wade do with the life
purchased for him by the sacrifice of another?".
Isn't that the ultimate question every person must
answer? Did you remain an outlaw or did you come
home like the prodigal to the Father?
Scripture:
The Parable of
the Prodigal Son -
Luke 15:11-24
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