On Friday night, Kim and I watched the movie, Book of Eli. It’s a post-apocalyptic action flick starring Denzel Washington that was released in 2008. The story tells about a man that God called to carry the last known copy of the Bible and “go west”. It contains more action than it does a spiritual message, but that’s OK. I like shoot ’em up movies, and Denzel is always cool.
We had both seen it before anyway.
I re-watch a lot of movies. My favorite play-it-agains are the eight Rocky films. I’ve seen I – IV dozens of times, watching them while I work out. When it doesn’t seem like you can go any further, the orchestral thrills of “Gonna Fly Now” are like battery superchargers. Rocky never quits, and he pushes me to greater heights, too.
Other times, I like to re-watch a movie that I enjoyed years ago just to see what impact it has on me now. The movie itself is constant, but we change. Occasionally, I wonder what I saw in it the first time. Sometimes I appreciate it in an entirely different way.
We enjoyed Book of Eli when we first saw it, but it had a bigger impact on us the second time through. When it finished, Kim sat quietly for a moment, processing its message and giving me a chance to conceal that I was wiping tears from my cheeks.
Then she said, “Wow. We were in a different place spiritually when we saw that years ago.”
She was right. The subtler messages of faith, perseverance, and hope struck us this time. Our focus was on the characters more than the action. Like Eli, we have followed God’s call and moved in faith. Even if we hadn’t noticed it happening, we had grown stronger. Spiritual growth can sneak up on you.
It was easy to tell how much taller the kids were each time we measured them. Physical growth has many different kinds of measurements – height, weight, clothing size, and appetite.
As a budget-conscious family, we have always monitored our income against our expenses. Financial growth is easy to measure. Professional growth also has specific metrics to indicate progress.
You can ask an athlete how much he benches, and he will know the answer. He could also tell you how much it has increased over the past year or more. Runners can give you their mile splits by memory also.
It is harder to recognize the headway we’ve made in our spiritual growth. Year after year, we have made commitments that required faith. With each new step, heights that were previously scary became our new base camp. But a step at a time, the progress is so subtle that you don’t notice it happening.
Looking back, the advance is obvious. I gladly pray in public. It is comfortable to talk to others about my faith or theirs. Confessing my weaknesses and failures comes naturally. Telling people why I am proud of them brings me peace. I am more generous with my time and resources. There are many things, both big and small, that are different.
It’s important to stop and pause occasionally to recognize your progress. Sometimes we forget that we aren’t children anymore, and in many cases, not even young adults. Although a next step may seem intimidating, it is a lot easier when you realize how far God has taken you in preparation.
During my run yesterday, I was thinking about who I am today compared to a decade ago. I was lost in thought as I headed down Old Settlers Road, approaching Flower Mound High School when I noticed a guy who was out walking his dog in my direction.
I’ve seen him before. He’s sixty-ish with a good build and a gait that betrays years of athletics. Whenever I get within twenty feet, the cheers of a high-school coach encourage me. I wondered what he would say today.
His voice rang out right on schedule. “There you go! Good run!”
I smiled and kept going, suddenly believing that I was more than a middle-aged guy banging out a morning run. He always makes me feel special.
I ran about twenty more steps before wondering if anyone ever told him how cool he was. In the years that he has encouraged others, did anyone ever thank him?
Without thinking, I spun around and ran back toward him as he continued walking his dog. When I was only a few steps behind him, I yelled out “Hey, man!”
Surprised, he turned around, wondering why someone was calling him. When he did, I stopped in front of him and grabbed his right hand with both of mine in a double-handshake.
I said, “I see you out here from time to time and you always have a good word. I want you to know that you bring strength to my day and a blessing to my life. Thank you.”
Then I continued my run, leaving him standing still as a pole with a grin frozen on his face.
Kim was right. Years ago, I may have received his good word, but I wasn’t the guy who gave them away. As our pastor said in his message this weekend, I was a consumer then, but I’m becoming a contributor. God has poured into me until I can now share his blessings.
The more we grow, the easier it becomes to speak life into people.
I’m not full-grown. God isn’t finished with me yet. I have a lot to learn and a long way to go, but today isn’t for seeing how far there is still to go, it is dedicated to being strengthened by how far I’ve come.
Most of the people who read these posts are friends of mine, and you are awesome people. You are being transformed into a vision of Christ himself. You are growing well into amazing, inspirational children of the King. I encourage you to take a few moments to realize how tall you’ve gotten and appreciate the strength you now possess.
Then go out and bless someone.
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Yet another great message. A lot of truth. Also glad to here you are jogging again!
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. Today as I read is definitely a day to focus on victories instead of defeats - which has been a struggle. Keep speaking a good word and thanks for both encouraging me in general and to do the same ❤❤❤
Jimmy, I want you to know that you Jimmy bring strength to my day and a blessing to my life. Thank you