The other day I was running through the jungle. Well, it seemed like a jungle. The trees were tall, the vegetation was plentiful, and the air was sticky like duct tape. While on my run I met an ape, but not just any ape. This was a talking ape. Surprised? It shocked me too! The ape asked, “Where are you going?” I replied, “ To get supplies.” It was a very friendly, articulate ape, pronouncing each syllable with precision. We became instant friends and frolicked through the jungle together gathering Clorox Bleach and Lysol wipes. Not long after we found the household cleaning stash in a gigantic 300 ft sequoia tree, I woke up from my dream.
Just in case you’re wondering, watching War for the Planet of the Apes while making a grocery list right before bed is not a good idea. This movie is the most recent in a three-part series surrounding the protagonist, Caesar – the ape of apes. Caesar was raised by humans and is a descendent of an ape used in clinical trials of a medicine that was on track to cure Alzheimer’s. Somehow this medicine made the apes highly intelligent. Basically, Caesar is just as intelligent as a human if not more. He is kind-spirited and all about family, yet he is a warrior with a strategic plan to protect his species.
During this movie many humans died because of a worldwide virus. As a result, there were no jobs and no stores. The aftermath left no electricity. Can you imagine no WiFi and no Krispy Kreme Donuts? This was a complete war zone. The way existing humans had to live was eerily similar to the way the apes lived. Some humans even lost their ability to speak. Their means of communication dwindled to just deep ape-ish sounding groans.
Watching a fictional pandemic movie during a real-life pandemic was too much irony for me. However, the movie made me think. What makes humans different from animals? We are both God’s creations. But God gave humans something that animals do not have. We have a choice as humans to evolve, to become better people, and to come to know Christ.
If our circumstances leave us without all accustomed comforts, including bleach, wipes, internet, and donuts, we will be okay. If we can’t think of the right words to express our desperation or are too weak in our bodies to pray, we will be okay. As believers, we have the Holy Spirit and God always hears the groans of the Holy Spirit. “…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God...” (Romans 8:26-27)