I don't know about you guys, but I thought Facing the Giants was an awesome movie. As an aspiring Christian filmmaker, I was very impressed. Say what you will about the acting, the overall professionalism of the production was very good, especially considering how it was made.But even more impressive than the film itself was its message, and I had one quick thing I wanted to say about that...
The whole time I was watching that movie, I was thinking about our youth group. I replaced the football team with us, and thought about how everything coach Taylor said applied to us. Do that, and you'll find a lot to think about.
One of my favorite parts came at the very end, when Taylor comes home after the game, completely satisfied with the way God has moved. He's happy - the team has won, he still has his job, he has a brand new truck, the team (and school) has experienced an awesome revival, etc. He has everything he wanted since the beginning of the film.
Everything...except one thing. He still can't get his wife pregnant. Personally, I believe he has made peace about this by this point. When you think about it, it was really one of the only things he ever truly had to make peace about. Even though he had decided to praise God win or lose, the outcome of the game, up until just a few hours before, was still up in the air, and everything else he was struggling with had been fulfilled as well. Not having a family was the only thing he had to really come to accept as something he couldn't control.
And yet, when he comes home, completely fulfilled and satisfied with all the Lord had blessed him with, his wife gives him the good news that she is going to have a baby. All he can do is break into tears and proclaim, "Oh God, I'm overwhelmed!"
I pray that our youth group will experience this same kind of revival - the kind where God gives us everything possible to give...and then a little more just because He can. I want to see every member of our youth group saved and excited about serving God. I want to see us do some amazing things in our service to Him. I want to see us make differences in the lives of the people we encounter. And then I want whatever else God wants to throw in. By the end of this year, I want us to be able to say unanimously, "Oh God, we're overwhelmed!"
But this will only happen when we begin to apply the values expressed in the movie. So let's get busy...
3 comments:
Yeah...It would be great to be able to just stand back enjoy what you already have. Some may be able to do that now materialistically, but I can bet you anything they have no clue that they could have so much more spiritually. God can completely transform a person's outlook on what they have, or what they want. I know that I would love to be able to be "overwhelmed" by God's amazing actions.
I really hope that I, and the rest of the youth will be able to experience that firsthand.
Facing the Giants was a powerful movie!
Okay, if anyone is still keeping up with this post, let me bring up another part.
Remember the scene when Taylor tells his wife that they can't have children. He comes home after spending several hours at the school thinking it over, then overhearing a couple fathers talking about getting rid of him. He sits down at the table and opens with the news of the fathers, then goes into how discouraged he's become. He expresses how hard he's tried and how, despite it all, he still can't seem to win.
"I was so sure I could turn this program around, and I've just sunk it lower."
Of course, his wife tries to encourage him, but it's pretty clear that there's not much to be hopeful about at this point.
"Brooke, I can't provide you a decent home," he says. "I can't provide you a decent car. I'm a failing coach with a losing record..."
He pauses. "...and I can't give you the children you want."
His wife is taken back. Trying to maintain her supportive expression but with her voice cracking, she asks, "What...?"
"It's me," he says. "Like everything else, it's me."
Do you guys ever feel this way? Do you ever feel that no matter what you do, you always seem to lose? That's it's just you? You're just a loser?
For me, this scene has personal meaning. Lately, I've been feeling really discouraged. And I feel like it's all me. I'm sure me and coach Taylor aren't the only ones who feel this way. What discourages you?
For you guys, Gary has asked me to continue this discussion on Sunday, so be ready to participate in that.
No? Nobody? Okay then.
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