Jim Carrey’s spiritual awakening is summed up in the phrase first spoken by historian and theologian Thomas Fuller in 1650,
“The darkest hour is just before the dawn”
Movie Icon
Carrey is a movie icon. He is one of the greatest actors of our time. His breakthrough came in 1994 when he landed the lead role in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The movie was very successful and grossed over $72 million at the box office, making him a household name overnight. It started a run of success which was cemented later that year as Jim went on to star in The Mask and Dumb and Dumber, grossing $120 and $127 million respectively.
Just the mention of ‘starring Jim Carrey’ was the keyword for movie success as the hits just kept coming. He went on to star in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) Batman Forever (1995), The Cable Guy (1996), Liar Liar (1997), The Truman Show (1998), Me, Myself & Irene (2000), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) Bruce Almighty (2003), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2005), Yes Man (2008), A Christmas Carol (2009), Mr Popper’s Penguins (2011), Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024).
Spiritual sensitivity
Through various interviews and TV appearances it was always clear that Jim Carrey had a deep spiritual sensitivity and a commitment to social issues long before he became a believer in Jesus Christ.
Although sometimes a controversial character, the media mostly loved this brilliant actor and natural comedian. His sensitivity and social commentary has been criticised, but his sincerity was never questioned.
Tragedy and legal battles
Jim’s life took a dramatic turn for the worse in 2016. His girlfriend Cathriona White suddenly and unexpectedly took her own life with an overdose of prescription medication. This was a very painful experience for Jim, but that pain was compounded by the reaction of her family. Losing Cathriona at such a young age took a toll on her family who suffered deep shock. Looking for answers, they accused Carrey of being responsible for her death. They filed a lawsuit against him and claimed that he had mistreated Cathriona, and that this contributed to her low esteem and ensuing suicide. They also claimed that Jim had exposed her to “harmful substances and degrading environments.”
Suffering leads to salvation
Following two painful and traumatic years, Jim won the legal battle and was declared innocent in 2018. But he admitted that he still felt broken. He said that it was the darkest moment of his life, but it was also a catalyst. Jim was now on a journey that would lead him to faith in Jesus Christ.
Speaking of his journey of suffering, he said,
“I believe that suffering leads to salvation. And in fact, it’s the only way that we have to somehow accept and not deny, but feel our suffering and feel our losses. Then we make one of two decisions. We either decide to go through the gate of resentment, which leads to vengeance, self-harm, harm to others, or we go through the gate of forgiveness, which leads to grace… and your being here is an indication that you’ve made that decision, right? You’ve made the decision to walk through the gate of forgiveness to grace. Just as Christ did on the cross. He suffered terribly, and He was broken by it to the point of doubt and a feeling of absolute abandonment.”
Out of the darkness and into the light
In the Bible, the writer of John’s gospel says,
“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1;9-13)
Quoting Jesus, he adds,
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Story by Ralph Burden
Photo: Jim Carey in 2020. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
