Went to see Unbroken with some of my band of brothers and wow what an inspiring movie. If you really want the full impact of what this man went through, I highly recommend the book by Laura Hillenbrand.

I want to start by acknowledging that the movie ‘Unbroken’ based on Laura Hillenbrand’s bestselling biography Unbroken is incredibly inspiring. What pops off the screen is Louie’s grit and courage. His sheer grit alone was awe inspiring — the likes of which not many men could ever hope to exhibit. Jesus tells us to love our enemies and Louie shows us through his brave example of true belief and courage that forgiving your enemies is possible.

Here is a quick summary of the movie before I take a deeper dive with my thoughts.

As a child, Louie Zamperini was kind of a bad seed, so we get a few scenes of a kid drinking alcohol and smoking and getting in fights.

Unbroken is the true story of Louis Zamperini, a promising young Olympic runner from Torrance, California, who was called into service on a bomber crew in the Pacific in World War II. During a search and rescue mission, the plane that Zamperini and crew were on went down in the Pacific Ocean and he and two other survivors drifted over 40 days living on rainwater and the occasional fish or bird they could catch. One of the crash survivors died on the raft, but Zamperini and the other survivor were finally nearing land when they were captured by the Japanese navy. Talking about bitter sweet!

Because of his relative fame as an Olympic runner, Zamperini was singled out for especially harsh treatment by the Japanese guards, but he wasn’t killed. He was sent to a series of prisoner camps, eventually arriving at a camp in Tokyo where he received particularly brutal treatment by a guard the men called “The Bird.” Later Japanese propagandists attempted to force Zamperini into making pro-Japanese broadcasts to America, but he refused and was further punished.

The movie was very inspiring and emotional as the audience walked through hell with Louis Zamperini, but it stops just short of where the book becomes even more interesting — Louie’s meetup with Billy Graham. This was the chapter of his story where he attended a Billy Graham crusade and became a Christian, which started him on the path to forgiving his captors. Unfortunately, the movie’s closing boiled down Zamperini’s post-captivity life to just a handful of title cards.

Here is an excerpt of the meet up with Billy Graham from the book Unbroken:

Louie was on the raft. There was gentle Phil crumpled up before him, Mac’s breathing skeleton, endless ocean stretching away in every direction, the sun lying over them, the cunning bodies of the sharks, waiting, circling. He was a body on a raft, dying of thirst. He felt words whisper from his swollen lips. It was a promise thrown at heaven, a promise he had not kept, a promise he had allowed himself to forget until just this instant: If you will save me, I will serve you forever…It was the last flashback he would ever have. Louie let go of Cynthia and turned towards Graham. He felt supremely alive. He began walking. “This is it,” said Graham. “God has spoken to you. You come on.”ⁱ

We’ve all heard the saying, “There are no atheists in foxholes!” Louie put God on notice with his promise and God stepped in and made sure Louie kept it!

No man could break Louie hence the title ‘unbroken’, but inside that tent with Billy Graham was the moment God revealed Louie’s brokenness. Not sure what life has thrown at you or what people have done to you, but true forgiveness is tough without first being broken. Contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, and worship leader Matt Papa nails it; “If the gospel has never broken you, you have never really heard it.”

On that night, Zamperini’s broken soul was touched and he walked down the dirt aisle toward the Graham and accepted Jesus Christ!

Unbroken is story of resilience, outlasting, human will, determination and making it past the finish line; but what inspired me the most? It wasn’t that he “won” through the force of his own will, but that he then turned around and reciprocated with love — he forgave his enemies.

Grit and courage where the catalyst to ignite the fire in Louie, but forgiveness and love is what God ultimately forged in Louie. Let that be what Zamperini’s life (and Jesus’ words) are really about: not winning, not defiance, not coming out on top, but the humble response of living generously and loving your enemies. Especially when nobody notices and it makes no sense.

Our world, and many of our churches, need a lot more of this right now.

Wouldn’t you agree?