Three years after writing the first post to this blog, I have finally been compelled to right the second entry to this online database of pervasive thought and self-inquiry. What is it that snapped my almost 3 years to the day silence? An afterthought that I received after returning with my family from a recent blockbuster movie release,
The Blindside. My apologizes for grammatical or lack of cohesive thought, as I'm writing this in a exhausted state.
The movie has all the makings of a quintessential athletic tearjerker that'll make you reminisce of the day that you were
trying to cling to any sort of manly reputation after your date clearly caught you crying on various occasions during
Remember the Titans -- an emotional true story, a gritty look at reality, a lovable young character, a feisty Jiminy Cricket figure, and plenty of football. Apart from all of its wonderful and cliche elements, one aspect didn't strike me until I had exited the theater.
The story is about current NFL player Michael Oher, and his journey from orphancy and poverty to being accepted to a Division 1A NCAA school to play football. Crucial to his life's success is a upper middle class family, who recognized Michael's need for food, shelter, clothing, education, and family and brought him in as one of their own. Seems like a typical "make you wanna go out and do something charitable" flick doesn't it? The case may be so, but I found something a little deeper underneath the initial layer of the film; the presentation of the gospel.
I know what you're thinking; "oh great, of course Hoke has to go all preacher boy on us and bring out some 4 week sermon series out of a movie so that he can be relevant." While I am subject to such realms of thought for my own amusement, that is not where I am going with this. You see, this family is just like the ones you would come in contact with when you were in high school, or maybe you are a part of this family. And if you have ever been involved in a private school full of Christians, then this film will feel like a flashback. In the film, Michael is admitted to a Christian private school, where he is thrust in an environment that is totally alien to him. Because of his lack of proper schooling and lack of records, Michael is perceived to be stupid and ill-fated by the school's teachers and administration. Truthfully, the only reason he gained acceptance into the school was because the head football coach pitched a "we need to be good Christians" line so that Michael would be able to play. I find it interesting that the film depicted the obvious Christians so cynically, but sadly, the depiction is all too familiar.
It isn't until Michael is found by the Tuohy's walking home in the rain that anyone truly reaches out to him. After establishing that he really has no where to go, Michael is taken in by the Tuohy's until his situation gets better. The situation is obviously an odd one. Let's face it, if someone in the typical suburb of your town took in a kid from the projects to just live with them and their 2 kids, there'd be some questions towards their sanity. But amongst the negativity towards the oblivious Christian characters, the Tuohy's actively present Christianity in its truest and unadulterated form. Hope for the hopeless, no matter the social pressures or damage to status. Family for the Fatherless, no matter the cultural barriers or safety hazards.
You see, the supporting roles had many valid questions to ask: What if he takes interest in your daughter? What are you gonna do if he steals? What if he just runs away? Why can't we just live our lives because we've earned our place here? But all along, Michael was never treated like he was a stray by the Tuohy's. He never experienced estrangement, despite the family's obvious right to distance themselves. They saw a boy beaten by his parent's wrong choices, picked him up, cleaned his wounds, gave him a ride on their colt, and gave him a place to stay.
Just like Jesus' parable of the Samaritan, the Tuohy's didn't quote scripture to Michael, they didn't have the typical Christian house adornments. In fact, there were plenty of opportunities for the movie to show the family's Christianity, such as bedroom talks between husband and wife, were not one Bible could be found. There was not one reference to bring Michael to church, and there was not one scene filmed in a church. They simply saw a need, and acted...and not just that night in the rain, but every second of the rest of Michael's life. They invited Michael to do life with them, and as a result, showed that their God is bigger than a ritual or an over zealous book club. He is a God that compels His followers to action.
You see, intentionally or not, the movie has provided us with a clear representation of how Jesus would have his followers to represent Him in this life. And that made all the difference for me tonight. Is my faith big enough to believe that God can use me to make a miracle? How about you?
I'll leave you with a verse that was shown multiple times during the movie:
"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
An interesting thought hit me today as I left chapel and sat down and read some responses to this week's events:
For four years I have listened year in and year out and heard a recurring theme resonating from the student body seeking a "revival." Anytime a piercing word came from the Chauncy (or Philips for a time :)) floor, the speaker would even utter, "I feel like God has something in the works for Temple...revival is in the making."
Well, God showed up in a big way this week...and He shook me through His servant. I feel like this week was God's answer to our prayers.
Exciting? Absolutely! What we witnessed this week was a challenge to the status quo. But what happens anytime the status quo is challenged? People question it, mostly within good reason.
I remember in the weeks before I was on my way to Temple as a freshman, I visited Toccoa Falls College. The student that showed me a tour of the campus told me something that I've never forgotten, "Be careful, because anyone going to school for ministry runs the risk of getting too comfortable." The paradox with Bible college is you get so saturated with the Word and the company of fellow believers with similar ideas, there is a risk of forming a bubble of procedures that is extra-Biblical, yet out of the motivation of being "Godly" we unconsciously make them equal to what we know about Jesus. We start making a check list of what is right or wrong. We start compartmentalizing our God in a way that we can understand His ways. Sound familiar?*
Our bubble got busted this week. Praise God.
Any status quo challenge comes packaged with a bonus of bitterness, fractionalizing, and maybe unwarranted action. What I am saying is this: Those that questioned what we have heard this week shouldn't be condemned. There shouldn't be sides picked. The temptations to let our individual convictions steer us against one another is exactly was the Adversary plans to occur. We can't let that happen.
Why? Because we would wind up right where we left off.
God has already given us our first opportunity to apply what we've learned: to Love those who are struggling with what all was taught this week. That is our prerogative in such a time where the folks at Temple are so at odds. If we are all honest with ourselves, each of us was challenged in one way or another this week, so actually, we are all in the same boat.
One thing is for sure, there is one status quo that is never shaken, and if we are all identified under His love, then we are promised to NEVER experience failure.
In love Templites,
Hoke
*See- any old Jesus movie and look for the old guys with beards walking around in black robes