Christian Viewpoint: Is there a bright child who comes to each of us and shows us the way home?
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I’m looking forward to seeing Jessie and the Elf Boy, a family feature film produced in Scotland which is released online later this month, writes John Dempster.
It’s based on the legend of Ghillie Dhu, a mysterious boy who meets young Jessie, lost in the woods, and shows her the way home.
In the film, Ghillie Dhu meets up again with Jessie when she’s older, visible only to her.
Sometimes he seems like an angel of grace. But there are pranks, mischief and slapstick fun, director Philip Todd tells me.
Having Ghillie Dhu as an invisible friend sounds like a mixed blessing!
Another invisible presence – God – is as real to Philip as Ghillie Dhu is to Jessie.
Philip is a son of the manse with six equally-talented siblings who spent their formative years in Caithness.
He tells me he was never not a Christian, but as he faced new challenges – moving first to Glasgow and then to London to study film and acting – he was aware of a growing intimacy with God, by which he means a sense that God’s not simply there for the big stuff, but is present in the detail.
Which means he sees his work – all of it – as done in co-operation with God.
When human creativity reflects God’s heart, Philip tells me, it is an expression of divine creativity.
This is true when Philip was working on specifically Christian projects such as presenting a documentary on John Knox, or editing Jesus Son of God?
But it’s equally true of the output of Fellowship Film which he co-founded and which produced Jessie.
Now you might say: “Come on! God’s creativity reflected in a light-hearted film?”
But is God totally serious, focused only on tasks and outcomes?
Surely, Philip suggests, when you look at God’s productions you see an explosion of extravagant joy, an exuberance, endless ingenuity.
God creates with a smile on God’s face and laughter in God’s heart.
All Philip’s work, including Jessie and the Elf Boy reflects the perspective that life has meaning: there is hope, and redemption, and glimmers of light in the deepest forest.
The girl lost in the woods. The mysterious child who shows her the way home.
It resonates deeply with us in a confusing and challenging world.
Is there a bright child who comes to each of us in the dark depths of an ancient wood, and shows us the way home?
