True friends are a gift from God in so many ways. They are people you can open to, come alongside, laugh and cry with, and always count on. They are people who are willing to be there with you through thick and thin. They aren’t perfect people, but they are people God puts in our lives.
Although I’m not an avid fan of Marvel films, there are moments in some of these movies that can be very powerful. Fans always love the action scenes and the explosions that come with them. But in the times that I watched these movies in theaters, I always noticed how quiet the audience would become when the hero made a sacrificial choice. And with music to match the scene, everyone’s emotions usually followed.
Sacrifice is powerful.
In April of 2014, Captain America: the Winter Soldier released in theaters all over the world. It was the second installment to the Captain America films, and many fans (including myself) wanted to see this hero wield his shield again. It had been two years since viewers had seen Steve Rogers on the big screen, which, for the die-hard Marvel fans, two years is practically an eternity.
To say that the sequel involves twists and turns in the plot would be a huge understatement. The story deals with Steve’s past, conspiracy theories, uncertainty on who to trust, and hard decisions that will affect the future. On top of all of that, Steve discovers that his best friend from WWII actually survived and has been used as a brainwashed assassin for decades.
After much action and unfolding of the mystery, Steve and his companions put together a plan to stop an enemy organization who has secretly infiltrated. Friends are few. So few that when Steve’s friend Sam asks him, “How do we know the good guys from the bad guys?”, Steve replies, “If they’re shooting at you, they’re bad!” Both charge into the fray, while the rest of the team does work behind the scenes. By all appearance, it seems that not even Captain America can pull off this mission. The odds are too much against them.
Long story short, aside from being shot at by hundreds of enemy guns, Steve manages to reprogram two of the enemy airships and is well on his way to finishing off the third one. But that’s when his friend from the past—that Winter Soldier—returns with a vengeance. The assassin eliminates all possibilities of Steve getting support from allies and intercepts him on the final airship. Steve pleas with his old friend, “Don’t do this,” but a fight is inevitable. The two soldiers thrust toward each other, using martial arts and maneuvers they both have learned over decades.
Every time the movie returns to the fight between Steve and the Winter Soldier, the battle has only become more intense. Steve must decide between trying to save his brainwashed friend or stopping the enemy’s plot to murder millions from airships. Both figures exchange blow after blow. Steve even receives a stab wound from a knife. Finally, Cap knows what has to do. Grabbing his friend, he pins him and renders him unconscious.
At this point, fans think, “Oh, Steve is home free! He can stop this final ship!” But then we see the Winter Soldier shoot him. Hearts sink as Captain America collapses and realizes he’s been shot. With only three seconds left on the clock, Steve puts all of his strength into inserting the control chip.
Victory!
But it’s going to be victory at a cost.
Steve orders his team to open fire on the ships—one of which he is still onboard. “Do it! Do it now!” he shouts, knowing full well that saving his friend could mean the end of the line. In fact, that’s what the scene comes to. Steve’s most powerful weapon with rescuing his friend won’t be his red, white, and blue shield.
It will be his willingness to suffer for him.
The airship begins to blow apart, portion by portion, frame by frame, as the other ships continue to blast it. Surprisingly, one of these frames actually traps the Winter Soldier, breaking his ribs. Perhaps for some people, this would be the perfect opportunity to “abandon ship”. But that’s not what the audience sees Steve do. Even with the wound in his gut, he manages enough strength to lift the metal beam off of his friend. This act of kindness should be enough to make the other soldier think differently, right?
Wrong. The Winter Soldier has a mission. And stopping the Captain is his mission.
Steve tries valiantly to deliver his friend from what Hydra has done to him. “You know me.” “Bucky. You’ve known me your whole life.” “Your name is James Buchanan Barnes”. For every time Steve attempts to speak, the other soldier delivers a hateful, heavy, and exhausting blow—one even knocking Cap’s helmet loose. Neither of them can keep doing this. Finally, Steve makes a choice and drops his shield. “I’m not going to fight you,” he pants, “You’re my friend”.
It still doesn’t work. James Buchanan Barnes slams into him and spits out, “You’re my mission!” More blows ensue, until the winter soldier is one punch away from finishing the hero. Viewers see Steve with a damaged face and little light left in his eyes. “Then finish it,” he manages to say, “Cuz I’m with you til…the end of the line”.
It's his final weapon. That phrase, “Til the end of the line” was something he and Bucky always used to tell each other. No matter what, they would go through things together. In the 40s, neither of them would have imagined this being put to such trial.
But the final weapon works.
Another beam crashes down from the roof, sending Steve into a freefall, until finally splashing into the Potomac. He sinks slowly, nothing left to give, disappearing into the depths. But then…a hand in the water reaches for him.
Steve’s body is seen being pulled from the water by a metal arm. It’s the Winter Soldier—no—it’s his friend Bucky Barnes. That final weapon had worked. Steve didn’t just rescue millions of lives.
He rescued one more.
I have to admit, when I watched this part of the movie in theaters, I cried. And I’m pretty sure that most people in the audience had tears going down their cheeks as well. Cap’s faithfulness to his friend was powerful.
Friends are a precious thing. And they are a gift from God. I know what it’s like to be betrayed by friends. But I also know what it’s like to have very faithful friends. God has always provided the right people in my life. I’m encouraged knowing that some of the friendships that I have are very similar to the kind of friendship that Steve had with Bucky. Or the kind of friendship that David had with Jonathan. But what is even more amazing is that Scripture tells us about “one who sticks closer than a brother” (Pr. 18:24). Interestingly enough, the Bible doesn’t come out and identify that someone. I believe the reason it doesn’t is because we are meant to realize that the answer is God. He is a friend to the upright (3:24). He is a friend to those who fear Him (Ps. 25:14).
There’s just no friend like God. Period. We can have a lot of great friends in this life, but there is no one who will stick closer to us than God. We can tell Him anything, ask Him anything, and count on Him in everything. He’s always faithful. He’s always there. And there’s never a moment or aspect of our lives that He doesn’t care about. He helps us, loves us deeply, and will walk with us through every trial. Where others sometimes fail, He never fails. And even when we aren’t as a faithful as we should be at times, He remains perfectly faithful. With Him, it goes beyond the ‘end of the line’.
It goes forever.
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