Vazquez Counseling

Today, my Wife and I saw the movie, “Hamnet,” a fictionalized account of William Shakespeare, his Wife, and their Children.

Spoiler alert! If you don’t want to know the story of this movie, stop reading this blog, go see the movie, then come back and finish the blog. I promise you, it’ll be worth the wait if you hate it when people ruin movies for you. Okay, so now that you’ve been warned, on with the blog…

The movie depicts the agonizing death of Shakespeare’s Son Hamnet, and how his death nearly drove Shakespeare and his Wife apart. The movie does not portray Shakespeare and his Wife as Christians; in fact, there are many things in the movie that seem to indicate that both of them were non-believers. At the end of the movie, we’re left wondering if the tragedy of Hamnet’s untimely death may have led Shakespeare and his Wife to faith in God. The movie is most definitely a tragedy, just like Shakespeare’s masterpiece, “Hamlet,” which was a tribute to their Son.

As I left the theatre, I wondered where Shakespeare truly stood on matters of faith, so I did some research online. What I found indicated that Shakespeare was most likely born Roman Catholic, and he lived his adult life within the framework of the Anglican Church that was prevalent in his society at the time. Current scholars debate whether Shakespeare was a Christian. His plays are filled with dark religious themes, so I can see why people debate the issue.

The main theme of the movie, however, did not center on Shakespeare’s faith. The story revolved around how he met and married his Wife, and they had three children. According to the movie, Shakespeare’s three children were a girl, and younger twins, a boy and a girl. The boy, Hamnet, died horribly due to the bubonic plague. His death nearly causes the end of Shakespeare’s marriage because his Wife is extremely angered that he was too busy working to be there when their Son passed away; that is, until Shakespeare writes his masterpiece “Hamlet” as a tribute to their Son. At the end of the movie, the play brings the couple back together. Shakespeare’s Wife watches the play, and she understands the truth that he was never indifferent about his Son, or her, or the Family. The tragic death of their Son nearly broke them up, but Shakespeare’s tribute to him restored the relationship.

As I thought about this story (and I know it was loosely based on historical fact, and it probably had a lot of inaccuracies), I was left with the quandary that we all face at one point or another in our lives. What do we do when things happen that are hopeless, or at the very least appear to be hopeless? What do we do when we reach the end of ourselves, when there is nothing else to hope for in this World but God? We are left with the one question that down through the ages has caused mankind much consternation: what is the meaning of life, and is there something, or more accurately, Someone, to Whom we can turn to in our hour of desperate need? For example, if you are an atheist or an agnostic, what would you do if you were in an airplane that was plummeting to the ground, and you only had a few precious seconds of life left? Would you turn to our Blessed LORD, who alone can save you from His divine wrath, or would you cling to your unbelief until you passed from this life into the next? Most of us will not be faced with such a dilemma, but I would argue that a lifetime of unbelief will have just as harsh an ending and will ultimately have the same result. So, the question for all of us, Christian, atheist, agnostic, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, you name the faith, is, do we accept Jesus Christ and what He did for us through His perfect Life, through His atoning Death on the Cross, and through His Blessed Resurrection, and have we placed our faith in Him fully for our salvation? If you can honestly say, yes to that question, then you are secure in your salvation, and you can look forward to an Eternity with our Blessed LORD.

Tonight, as I sit in my home office, thinking about these things, the Holy Spirit drew my attention to Ecclesiastes 3:16-22, where the Word of God through the writings of King Solomon says the following:

“Moreover I saw under the sun:
In the place of judgment,
Wickedness was there;
And in the place of righteousness,
Iniquity was there.
I said in my heart,
‘God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,
For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.’
I said in my heart, ‘Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.’ For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?” (New King James Version)

Then, in Ecclesiastes 12:9-14, King Solomon concludes:

“And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.” (NKJV)

Most of the Book of Ecclesiastes teaches that without God, everything is vanity. After 12 chapters of describing how Everything is vanity, King Solomon concludes with the only thing that ultimately matters, that we should serve God and only Him, for He will judge our works at the end of the age. Friends, our Blessed King is returning to make all things right. Please be aware of everything you do; be aware also of your motives; and serve God will all your actions. Our LORD does not force us to do anything. He invites us to follow Him, and He invites us to know Him intimately. The King of the Universe wants to commune with you; He yearns for a relationship with you.

So, if you don’t yet know this Great God Whom we serve, I invite you to get into His Word and learn about Him. I can guarantee that if you give God a chance to know you, and you get to know Him, He will not disappoint you. You will find that He will hold you in His arms when you are suffering, all of which is due to the fallen nature of the world. I don’t know if Shakespeare and his Wife were Christians, and frankly, for us, it doesn’t matter. Only God knows if they are in Heaven. The important question I have for you right now is, will you be in Heaven with the our Heavenly Father and His Precious Son Jesus and God’s people? God wants you there, and so do I, and so does every true believer in God. Amen.