Bullitt is the ultimate car chase in movie history to me. A strong
argument can be made for Gene Hackman in The French Connection, or even Angelina
Jolie in Salt, riding a Street Triple R, you see her, you hear me riding it. No
we never met. For shear suspense nothing beats Duel, never saw a nastier truck,
and on long stretches of deserted roads I’m always on the lookout. Smoky and
the Bandit made it all laughable, made Burt Reynolds a hero, and sold a lot of
black Trans Ams. But one movie seriously overlooked, and rarely seen on any TV
movie is Vanishing Point, where Barry Newman has to deliver a 1970 Challenger
from Denver to San Francisco in record time to win a bet. Definitely a time
capsule, it is the ultimate anti-hero film, from his Viet Nam vet war experience
PTSD, to the blind black DJ on underground radio tracking Kowalski, to the nude
girl riding the Honda, maybe you did meet the nicest people on a Honda after
all. What an ad that would make. But in between the car chases, which really
aren’t chases, to the ending where he takes on the bulldozers and loses,
Vanishing Point is a movie that best describes the moods, values, and attitudes
of the 1969-72 times. Fast cars, fast girls, fast motorcycles, and fast talking
cops, it s the man vs. us. And for a while it looks like we might win, or at
least be winning....
There was a popular bumper sticker, if not a bit rude and inaccurate at the
time saying “Jesus is coming and boy is he mad!” defining the non-believing
world against the man, Jesus Christ. Where Kowalski was the anti-hero we were
really searching for a real hero, and Jesus was it, as many of us found in the
Jesus Movement. Some survived it, drugs and war took too many, but those of us
who came to Christ found more than we could ever imagine. We found a loving
savior that was so far removed from the bumper sticker, and we had to tell
others, we couldn’t keep Jesus inside,we had to share him. With a sunset so far
removed from the brutal ending for Kowalski, and without destroying a cool car
and two bulldozers. Where the blind DJ was underground, we were above ground
and alive, not hiding, but living. Naked as the girl on the Honda, and not
ashamed of it for Jesus. A time in history you had to be there, it goes beyond
emotions, sights, and sound. Cars and trucks, motorcycles and bulldozers. It
was action, from beginning to end. And we found that action in the Bible, with
God along with us for the ride. One that still goes on today!
When Moses wrote in Psalm 91 that God was from everlasting as back as time
goes, and before with no beginning in sight, but also everlasting in the future,
with no end in sight we see eternity. Add one day to either end and he goes
farther. But the Hebrew interpretation for everlasting is a vanishing point,
going back as far you can see in the rear view mirror, and as far ahead as the
sunset allows, then continuing. In Jesus there is no vanishing point, for
eternity, both before and after have no beginning and will have no end. No
crash at the end, no anti-hero to remember, it will be all about Jesus in
eternity, which is a very long, long time. The words of David Crosby of CSN
singing “it’s along time coming...it’ll be a long time gone...” but for those of
us in Christ it never ends! So rejoice. But for those who reject the offer
made by Jesus, it is along time gone also, eternal hell. I think of all those
famous who died and didn’t know Jesus, they still died and whatever fame they
found on earth meant nothing to God. Who they stood for did. There are rock
stars and the one who made and placed the stars, you choose. He gives you the
choice.
In Duel we never saw the driver’s face, in Bullitt we never see that Bud
Ekins is driving for Steve McQueen, who was pulled out after the famous shot of
him overshooting the corner, and backing up with the ultimate wheel hop. Too
famous to risk. There are stunt drivers to take the risk for the stars, Jesus
took the risk to the end for us all. And was resurrected, he knew no vanishing
point, and we won’t either, for we too will be resurrected as he was. Before
the beginning God was, and after the end he still will be. From vanishing point
to vanishing point and all in between, God is. That is why when Moses asked
“who do I say you are,” God answered say “I am the great I AM!” A forever today
outside of the constraints of time. Our last shot in Vanishing Point is
Kowalski hitting the two bulldozers an exploding. Our last shot before entering
our vanishing point will be a new shot in heaven.
In this Psalm Moses goes over how God created the earth, how his spirit
gave it form, and how his spirit when entering our lives gives us life and
form. His book starts “in the beginning,” but God has none. He is, and was,
and will be. A place like none other in the universe, because it says God gave
it life, and then placed us on it, his ultimate creation, for his pleasure. A
planet and creation unlike any other in the universe, and a son, Jesus, begotten
and unique to go with it. If only Moses knew about Vanishing Point the movie,
he would make quite a critic. After watching three New Mexico sunsets, and
remembering why it is called “the Land of Enchantment,” the sun rose the next
day. Reminding me how Jesus rose after the darkness, and gave us another day of
life. You can be part of the sunsets and sunrises, and from vanishing point to
vanishing point in Christ or believe the bumper sticker. When God formed the
mountains, I just know he was thinking of those of us who ride, and will ride
into a vanishing pint with him someday. Kowalski couldn’t beat the system, it
beat him. Truth is like that, you can argue it, but unless you accept it and
change, you will become a victim of it. The truth will set you free, a pair of
D-8 Cats will mess up your afternoon. And your car. If you are going out in a
blaze of glory, make sure you are going to glory instead of a blaze. Hell was
meant for the devil and his fallen angels, not for man. God has reserved a
place for us called heaven. With no vanishing point. Hope to see you there, in
heaven that is. I’ve seen the movie, I may be no critic, but God gets 4 stars,
**** in my book any day. I’m glad I get that many in his, and all the ones he
knows by name. Everlasting, never changing. He’s been a long time
comin...
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com