CBN.com – Marty
(1955)
Academy Awards: Best Picture; Delbert Mann, Best Director;
Ernest Borgnine, Best Actor; Best Original Screenplay
MPAA Rating: not rated
Read: Genesis 21:1–7
There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be
cut off. (Proverbs 23:18)
“Whatever it is women like, I ain’t got it,” says Marty
(Ernest Borgnine), a lonely thirty-four-year-old Italian-American butcher
living in the Bronx. Every Saturday night he says to his buddy Angie (Joe
Mantell), “What do you want to do tonight?”
Angie replies, “I don’t know.” And the endless circle
starts.
Marty’s mother (Esther Minciotti) gives him grief, saying, “Why
don’t you get married? You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Marty is ashamed. He knows the embarrassment and pain of being single
all too well. When Marty goes to a dance, he meets a plain but intelligent
young woman named Clara (Betsy Blair). Despite their insecurities, Marty
decides to take a chance and see if something beautiful can happen for
their future.
When Abraham was old, God told him that he was going to have a son who
would father a whole nation, Israel. Abraham was amused and waited, but
no son came. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, said to Abraham, “What
are you going to do about it?”
Abraham said, “I don’t know. What are you going to do about
it?”
Sarah told him, “I tell you what you are going to do. You are going
to sleep with my handmaiden Hagar and have a son with her.”
Eighty-one-year-old Abraham slept with Hagar, and Ishmael was born. But
this was not God’s plan. Nineteen years later, at one hundred years
of age, Abraham fathered a son through his wife, Sarah. They were so amused
and overjoyed that they named their son, Isaac, which means “laughter.”
Lots of people think they are too old to have something beautiful happen
to them. Thirty-somethings and older people give up on love, opportunity,
and the blessings of God because their past looks less than stellar. They
resign themselves to lifeless routines. God doesn’t want your old
bones in a rut. He wants to use your wisdom, experience, and strength
for his glory. He wants to do something wonderful with your old bones,
and you can enjoy the ride. Many people these days are retiring early
and pursuing second careers in volunteer work for God. Others are finding
new love. Seek God and find out what new blessing or direction he wants
to give you.
PRAYER IDEA: Ask God to keep you always faithful and looking for new
opportunities.
Excerpted from Reflections
for Movie Lovers by Matthew Kinne, published by AMG Publishers/Living
Ink, Chattanooga, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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