Football & M. Night Shyamalan vs. Galatians

Lunch with Adam, John, and Amy is always something worth looking forward to. There have been so many different things we have experienced simply eating lunch together. We always enjoy eating together, and our lunch times are never the same. There are days we have “serious lunches” (those times we use to plan events, pray for concerns, or figure out problems that need fixing), there are “funny lunches” (those we use to lighten our soul and laugh more than we eat), there are “fast lunches” (where we literally eat and run), there are “rare lunches” (those we get to experience with Mr. Harvey and Thomas), and many others types. Lunches are always a surprise. However, ever so often, there are those lunches where Amy and I are left to fend for ourselves when John and Adam start talking about sports. These lunches I would probably call “lost lunches” for two reasons: 1) I am usually completely lost, and 2) I get to make up these names for our lunch times. :-)

I say all of this just to say that a few days ago I noticed something particularly profound during a “lost lunch”. John and Adam were trying to figure out what team won the super-bowl in 2005 or 2006 and they simply could not remember. After a few minutes, Adam pointed out that it was a shame that he could not remember the team because those guys had worked so hard for the super-bowl title all that year. Everything that particular team had worked for (and all of the training that the team went through) was forgotten at our lunch table. I am sure that the triumphant football team enjoyed the few minutes of fame that they experienced after winning the super-bowl, but that victory obviously has had limited impact on the world because it was easily forgotten by two football fans. I couldn’t help but begin to think long and hard on this issue.

A few days later, I was talking to Sarah’s family about the different M. Night Shyamalan films. While we were casually discussing the neat ideas of the movie “Signs”, the plot of “The Village”, and some aspects of “Lady in the Water”, another similar situation occurred when we forgot about one of his first movies, “The Sixth Sense”. We started to talk about it, but then moved on. We looked over it quite quickly, wrote it off as old news rather easily, and moved on to another topic. I started thinking how it might make M. Night feel if he knew we had just passed over it like that. It was then that the thought hit me… Every ounce of energy that he put into “Signs”, and all of the hard work he put into “The Village”, all of the time he put into writing “Lady in the Water”, was for what purpose? What was the end result? Was it so I could forget about them? What about these movies changed the world? Or did it change at all? Was it worth it? Did it make him truly happy? Can he rest in peace? So many questions...However, it was worth thinking about.

Now, I am sure that all of the money that M. Night and the super-bowl winners brought in was enough to make them "happy" for a season, but we know it cannot make them happy forever. Because we only live once, I started thinking how important it is to choose what we give of ourselves to. What will matter at the end of time?

I was so encouraged when I started thinking on the verses in Galatians 6:8-10. It says:

The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (ESV)

I was encouraged because Scripture promises that my works in Christ will not be forgotten because they are rooted in His works. In short, the LORD promises that if I sow to please the Spirit I will reap a harvest if I do not grow weary of doing good! Every ounce of energy I put forth (or sow) in Christ towards the advancement of His kingdom will one day produce a harvest! As an adopted son through Jesus, I do not have to fear ever expending myself for the sake of Christ and then finding myself at the end of my life wondering if my life had any lasting effect or if it mattered at all. I can rest in Christ.

After super-bowl winners have their parties, it is back to the training field for next year’s big game. When a hit movie breaks blockbuster, it is back to producing the next big movie! It’s a mean world out there and we have to compete, right? Well, the good news is that after Christ became a sacrifice for our sins once and for all, He sat down at the right hand of the Father! (Hebrews 10:11-15) There is no competing; there is no need to practice for next time or produce something new and catchy to entertain the world. In Christ, He has satisfied all of the demands of the law and imputed to us His own perfect record- one time. He won the big game, counted us as winners through His own perfect record, and no one can ever match it or take it away!

Can you grasp this truth? Because Christ has won the game, all of our good works in Him have celebration, reward, satisfaction, and joy already awaiting them in the harvest. It is impossible that we expend ourselves in the Spirit and possibly waste our efforts. Likewise, it is impossible for us to find out at the end of time, that it wasn't worth it. We have already won! We continue to play because He calls us to finish well while the clock is still counting down. He created the game, made the rules, played it perfectly, made us winners with Him, and invites us to the after party…which by the way, will never end! We just have to finish well. We must not grow weary of doing good. The clock is still counting, and we are in the final moments of the game...

Go back and read Galatians 6, and then read the book of Hebrews while you are at it!

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