If my goal is to spread everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ (2 Cor. 2:14) this year, I cannot think of a better movie to watch for inspiration than A Great Awakening. I love history. I love exploring God's hand in the past as encouragement for the present (and boy, do I need encouragement, a reminder that God is alive and moving). My supplemental devotional readings have taken me into the life and ministry of Jonathan Edwards. When I saw advertisements for this movie about the relationship between George Whitefield (another revivalist of The Great Awakening) and Benjamin Franklin, I added it to my movie 2026 Baby Bucket List. For this film, I was determined. I attempted to lure someone from my Bible study to attend with me after our Tuesday morning time, but not one person joined me (how sad, given that it was a marvelous, uplifting movie). So, I went alone.
Powerful! That is the word that resonated in my brain and on my lips when I left the theater. I haven't seen a movie like it in many years. Sometimes, Christian movies suffer from poor acting and weak scripts. Not so with A Great Awakening! The movie sucked me into the historical context. George Whitefield was born in the early 1700s and worked in his family's inn. Thanks to someone's referral, he ended up attending Oxford as a servant/student (working to earn his keep and study). His great goal was to become an actor on a Shakespearean stage. However, when he came into contact with the Wesley brothers (Charles and John), his life and dreams changed.
He became a preacher with tremendous impact and crossed the seas to reach souls in America. His elocutionary skills aided him in reaching tens of thousands of people at one time. Benjamin Franklin was not a believer, but rather a practical deist intent upon rational thought and moralistic living of virtues. Yet, his interest in capturing Whitefield's story, led Franklin into relationship with this preacher. This movie is a faithful portrayal of history. But, more than that, it is a convicting story of the gospel.
At several points, I cried over the beauty of this sound gospel testimony. I loved that it presents Christ as key. Indeed, Whitefield often said something to the effect of "let my name be nothing and Christ's be exalted." Early in his story, he attempted to align his will to the will of God. Wesley argued Whitefield wasn't seeing the gospel clearly. What he truly needed was new birth and recognition of God's undeserved grace. Salvation brings a new birth, something that is tangibly demonstrated in God's Biblically mandated baptism. I cried at Whitefield's baptism. I cried when he baptised the filthy workers in a coal mine (such a powerful image of the filth of sin being washed away through the blood of Christ).
This was a great man of God! Yet, his humility was stunning. He did not want to draw attention to himself, but put all focus on Christ. When he was shunned from the pulpits, he took to the streets to awaken dead souls to life in Christ. He probably won many thousands into the kingdom of God. So convicting! What have I done? I want to be more effective in wooing others to the Lord, in calling out sin and declaring the grace that saves men's souls from damnation and transfers them (Christ's righteousness applied and the Holy Spirit given as a seal of inheritance) into God's family where no man can snatch them from His hold (John 10:27-29).
If you only go to see one movie this year, make it A Great Awakening (although for many theaters, TODAY is the last day it will be showing)! If you are a believer, it will stokes fires within you to reach the lost. If you are not a believer, perhaps George Whitefield's message from the grave will bring you from death to life in Christ. Wherever you are in your spiritual journey, God will meet you in this movie! And if all you take from it is a history lesson, even still the time will be well spent. For me, I cannot wait to see this movie again and hope to take my husband along before it leaves our area (it appears to be showing through next Thursday in towns further away). If you see the movie, please leave a comment letting me know if it impacted you as strongly as it did me. Would that my life witnessed for Christ one-tenth of the magnitude of George Whitefield's flame!
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