Back to the Future: Faith Lessons

The summer of 1985 was a heavy year for the box office. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd star in a film called Back to the Future, which teaches us about the consequences of our actions.

It launched a successful trilogy about a teenager, Marty McFly going back in time with a Delorean used as a time machine invented by Dr. Emmit Brown and finding his way back to the present. In between going back and returning, Marty must be sure that the future doesn’t change because of his actions in the past.

Here's a look at some faith lessons from this cult classic as it celebrates 40 years of its cinematic release.

Personal Responsibility and Shaping Your Future

Marty goes back in time to 1955 when his parents George and Lorraine were teenagers. He recalled how his mother, Lorraine reminiscences about the dance where she and George fell in love.

After saving his father from getting hit by a car, his future was going to change, where his parents would never fall in love, as he must help retract the romance between the two. With the help of Dr. Brown, Marty finds a way to get them to fall in love with the dance as leverage.

Marty also used the time he could alert Dr. Brown that he was from the future and tell him of what happens to him. Despite Dr. Brown’s hard-headedness, Marty was successful in convincing him to prevent his untimely death.

The prophet Jeremiah reminds us "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

Overcoming Obstacles

Marty had many setbacks while trapped in 1955. The biggest was convincing his father to man up. He had to protect him from Biff Tannen, a slacker that picks on George while finding ways to woo Lorraine. In one scene of the film, Marty was hoping to get George to protect Lorraine from him. Yet, the plan took a turn as Biff wanted to get revenge for his car getting wreck from an earlier incident.

After witnessing George standing up to Biff, Marty fills in for a guitarist to play a romantic song to help George and Lorraine fall in love.

Another setback was finding a way to get back to 1985. In the climactic scene, Marty and Dr. Brown had to weathered the storm to harness the lightning to make it powerful enough to successfully send Marty back to the future while he commandeers the Delorean. They had cables that had to be connected. In the end, Marty was able to go back to the future and saw how the year he left was still the same.

Marty persevered in spite of every obstacle that came his way. St. Paul reminds us, “Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Faith and Hope in the Face of Uncertainty

Despite much uncertainty, Marty and his family face a bright future. He saw a difference in them when he returned from the past from how his brother went from minimum wage gig to an office job.

The movie reflects hope and faith that we have in God’s promises and it all can happen when we trust in his plan.

Back to the Future is a fun adventurous film that stands the test of time (no pun intended). It’s an 8 out of 10.