Talking about: “The Fault In Our Stars”

Editor’s Note: interlinc staffer Brandon Palma braved opening weekend crowds to check out the new movie “The Fault In Our Stars”. He shared some of his thoughts in our staff meeting on Monday morning, and we asked him to share them here as well. This isn’t a review so much as a quick summary of how this story can help you connect the dots for your students between something they’re passionate about and God’s desire for their lives. 

So I saw “The Fault in Our Stars” over the weekend and it was packed with teen girls. If someone is a youth leader, there is a GOOD chance that their girls have seen it/will see it/have friends who have seen it. Here is my brief take on the film for youth leaders.

As with anything, there are positives and negatives to the film morally and spiritually. The point is, your girls have probably seen it so how should you talk with them about it? The main point driven home by the book and film is that we are all given a set amount of time on this earth that we have little control over. What we do have control over is how we spend the time we’ve been given. The main characters, Hazel and Gus, discuss the life lived in their “little eternity”, saying that though some eternities are bigger than others, they choose to live theirs to the fullest. They choose to love instead of hate; to be positive instead of negative.

We, as believers, don’t know the time or hour when we might slip from this life, so until that happens, we should treat each day as a new opportunity; to love, to minister, to serve. All we have control over is our reactions to life’s circumstances. Let’s pray for God to open our eyes to each morning’s new mercies and live life abundantly, as we are called to do. And let’s make sure and fill our own little eternity with the good and perfect will of God for our individual lives.

Have you see the movie? Have you found a way to use the movie or book to connect with your students? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments.