I am admittedly a movie geek. That’s why when I got a chance to see To Kill a Mockingbird at a restored old movie theatre in historic downtown Franklin, I jumped at the chance. I probably slobbered all over myself, too. I love old movies like that.

I love the character of Atticus Finch. He’s the father everyone wishes they had, even those with good fathers. In the movie, he defends a black man accused of raping a white woman. The outcome of the case is a foregone conclusion in this small southern town, but Atticus Finch presents a solid defence anyway.

I love that because I love the idea of someone being a champion for the lost causes. I love the idea of people who will speak out for those who have no voice, whether it’s the unborn in America or children of Muslim women in Afghanistan. Whether it’s the dying lepers in India who just want to die with dignity or the AIDS patients here who need to know that someone really loves them.

Jesus was that kind of champion. He spoke for the widow and the orphan, He defended the defenseless, and He chose the outcasts and nobodies to be His followers. He said those who were spiritually poor, those who hungered and thirsted for God, those who mourned, those were the blessed ones, because they got God and the Kingdom.

I think the world needs more of those kind of heroes. It needs those who will stand up for the orphans and the widows and the forsaken and the outcast. It needs someone who will fight for the rights of the enemy and love those who hate them, as Jesus did. The Jesus who laid down His life for us when we were God’s enemies and opposed to everything He stands for.

In God’s perspective, there are no lost causes and no one beyond hope of salvation. Maybe when we start seeing through His eyes, we will learn to cherish and love what God loves and have His heart for those who have no one else who loves and looks after them.

That’s what I want. I hope you want it, too.