Last night I watched the profound film, Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith.  When I heard about the movie last year, I honestly did not want to see it, fearing it would be too sad or gruesome for my melancholy self.  Finally watching it, I found it to be extremely meaningful and redemptive, even though sad.  It was not one of those movies that leaves you feeling depressed and hopeless about life, even though the content is intensely serious and fraught with tragedy.  If you have no idea what movie I’m talking about, check out the synopsis.

Without giving too much away, the film is about a young man plagued by guilt and sorrow because of the death of his wife and six other strangers in a car crash at his hands.  He decides to commit suicide so that he can save the lives of others he deems more worthy of living.  The movie appears to some to be condoning suicide.  I do not feel this is the case.  If anything, the movie is a tribute to living and the value of life.  The main character, played by Will Smith, is a wealthy success, and his life is turned upside down by tragedy.  He wrongly assumes he is not worthy of living and decides he will take his life and give his organs to others.  He then births an elaborate plan to research and find out the character of possible recipients before his planned time of death. 

The tricky part is that during the process of finding worthy recipients, he finds reason and desire to live himself.  In the end he still sacrifices his life for a greather love.  He begins his quest as someone who doesn’t deserve or want to live, and he ends as a real hero, dying for another to live.  In a way he points to the redemptive story.  Let me explain.

My brother, in real life and real time, needs a heart transplant.  Twelve years ago he suffered from a complex immune reaction , which caused his own body to attack his heart tissue, leaving it badly damaged.  He has had many life-threatening conditions since that time, and he has faced each one of them with courage and a positive outlook.  He truly is a hero to me because he never complains, even though his life has been significantly limited by his health condition.  This damaged heart of his has undergone open heart surgery to repair damaged valves, and now years later, it has almost gone as far as it can go.

This puts me in a unique position as I hope for a heart for my brother.  I want him to have a new heart.  I yearn for him to have a new leash on life.  I dread the process and fear the possibilities at times, yet I cannot deny that I hope he will have a successful heart transplant.  For this to happen means that someone, someone whom I will never meet, someone who is alive now with people who love them, someone with a life and a family and hopes and dreams, will have to die.  Someone will have to die for my brother to live.  What a sobering reality.  I do not want another someone to die, but I want my brother to live.

It was in this context that I watched Seven Pounds last night.  And it is with deep gratitude that I will thank God for a new heart if and when my brother receives it.  If I ever get the chance I will thank the family of the person who is an organ donor, so that my brother will live. 

By the way, I have become an organ donor through this experience of watching my brother’s heart issues.  I figure, if I die by some tragedy, why shouldn’t someone be able to live through the gift of my organs.  It is important to let your loved ones know if you want to be an organ donor.  If you would like to find out more about how to become a donor, read about it at OrganDonor.gov.  And if you want to watch a movie that will make you think about life and what it is all about, watch Seven Pounds.  I’ve written about my thoughts on suicide here, so please do not take this movie as an encouragement to take your own life.