On the Right Flight

Garland Green is a serial-killing, mass-murderer who joins the cast of characters (in the movie, Conair) just after the Convicts take over the plane. The cons, posing as security guards, are forced to make one stop in the midst of their getaway to pick up this additional prisoner. If they fail to make this stop their cover will be blown to early in their escape.

Upon learning of this development Poe deadpans, "He's on the right flight."

That's a very dramatic attempt to see something "right" in a very "wrong" scenario!!

But sometimes with all the spin you can spin, all of the positive thinking, all of the optimism you can muster and looking for that silver lining behind that cloud there are just some situations that seem to be destined to be desolate and anything good.

And when just one more bad thing is thrown onto the pile we're not really surprised.

But here's a spoiler: good things do happen in this story . . . and it has a happy ending for our hero.

Believer's in God have been prophetically given the promise of good things even in bad times . . . . and a happy ending. That is a part of our faith. A part of what we are asked to anchor ourselves to.

When one bad thing after another is added to an already bad situation --- it doesn't necessarily mean that we are on the wrong flight. Not on the wrong path, or out of God's will.

It is possible that, even though your life seems to have been high-jacked, you are on the right flight. You are exactly where God wants you to be.

Hang on. Don't lose hope.

God Exists . . . When things are going to Hell

You can find God in the most unusual places. The movie Con Air is one of those places. If you've watched the movie, you've seen that the film is violent and crude with lots of tension and melodrama. It's not a family film (a great deal of violence --- some adult situations and language) but it does portray some very good values in it's heroes.

Though the question about the existence of God is not a central theme of the movie it is one of the threads in the story where God makes a direct appearance (so to speak). The other threads of godliness are found in friendship, loyalty, devotion, commitment and courage in the face of overwhelming odds and circumstances.

Synopsis of the Movie: The name Con Air is a play on the airline named ComAir. The movie name refers to the fact that an airplane is being used to transport a group of dangerous criminals ("Cons" or "Convicts") by air to a high security prison facility.

Most of the passengers (all in shackles) are violent, high-risk, high-security criminals. Only a few are your average run-of-the-mill convict. One in particular --- our protagonist, Cameron Poe --- is a very low-risk prisoner who has really already served his time and is on the flight only as a means of transferring him from where he served . . . . to freedom.

But things go wrong almost immediately . . . the cons take over the plane . . . and the authorities are after them in hot pursuit to bring them down.

Poe is caught between the violent criminals on board the plane and the Feds --- trying to survive so that he can be reunited with his wife and see his daughter for the first time while at the same time trying to save the lives of the prison guards and his best friend who is first in diabetic shock and then wounded by gunfire.

It's complicated and moves fast --- but if you're paying attention you can see some very good qualities surfacing all through a very bad situation.

Con Air
1997
Touchstone Pictures
Directed by Simon West

Great Compliment

The Best Compliment of My Life

This scene starts out with Melvin saying, "I have a great compliment for you." This frightens Carol but she braces herself because she knows there's no stopping what's to follow.

And what follows is one of the greatest compliments I have ever heard.

It's a little complicated (like Melvin himself) and requires some setup and explanation. But it's worth it.

"You make me want to be a better man."

Nicholson's delivery and acting is superb as he fidgets and fumbles to say the lines as Melvin would. But what is priceless . . . perfection . . . and unforgettable . . . is the speechless changing expressions on Helen Hunt's face as Melvin's meaning dawns on her.

Watch her face. The camera zooms ever so slightly. There are actually about 5 different phases to her expression. Her eyes glisten with tears and ungraspable emotion.

I can watch it (and I have) over and over again. It always touches me.

"And the winner of the award for best female actress in a leading role is: Helen Hunt!"

She has my vote.

When Melvin says, "You make me . . ." Carol knows that he is describing something that is coming from a different place than all of the other voices and demons that he is a slave to every moment of his life.

He's not talking about a compulsion . . . he's not obsessed with her . . . he loves her. And what is coming from him now is something that he genuinely wants to give to Carol.

He's saying, "You inspire me," "You stir me," "You lift me up," "You empower me."

Is there anyone or anything in your life that makes you want to be a better man, a better woman?

This is what puts every thing that I "hate" (I'm using the word "hate" here) or every thing that I don't like or every thing that I wish was different in my life or in the the world in general a proper perspective.

I can do it, I can bear it, I can withstand it, I can surpass it. Because those very things -- my troubles, trials, and tribulations . . . have the greatest possibility of making me a better man.

And I want that.

OK. Here I go . . . . Lord, I want to offer you praise. You make me want to be a better man.

                      Give someone a great compliment today.

There is no spoon.

I  don't know how metaphysical you are, but for me . . . I get tired of reality and all of its limitations. 

To realize the truth (make the truth real) you have to edge off into some deep water, get out of your comfort zone, and let your mind think outside the box.

Even farther than outside the box.

There is no box.

There is no spoon.

I believe that it has always and ever been true that we cannot bend the spoon.  That would be impossible!

The only thing in God's universe that He has given me the power to bend is me.

YOU are not my problem.  You are not my obstacle. You are not my hope. You are not my source. You are not the key to my success or failure. You are not the center of my life. I value what you think of me, but ultimately it does not matter. 

You and many others wish me well . . . or ill. But that does not matter in the scheme of all things.

I furrow my brow, clench my fists and my teeth. I focus and concentrate . . . spending day after day after day aiming the force of my entire being staring with laser attention at spoon, after spoon, after spoon.

Take another look at happy people.  At contented people.  At successful people. At the people that you admire for their peace, calm, and state of being. They are not spoon-bending . . . nor are they trying to bend you.

I have discovered people who know the truth.  

We cannot change, order, manipulate, or bend others. We can only bend ourselves.

There is no spoon.

It's a metaphor.

This is the kind of loser I am . . .

I swing . . . I make contact . . .

Then I always try something that I NEVER try . . . do more than I can do . . . be more than I can be.  To accomplish something that I have never accomplished before.

And I fail.  And I fall.

Down.  Embarrassed.  Humiliated.  Mortified.  Crushed.  Exposed.

And all the time . . . . . I knocked it out of the park.  

It's a metaphor.

Just enjoy the show . . .

I think I'm just like Billy Beane . . . I'm such a loser . . .

Did he get it?     I think maybe he did.

Will I?

I think that this could be my "Let It Go" song.

My "Let It Go" movie.

*

A Reckoning

It is important, when trying to understand the ways of God, to know the difference between "revenge" and "a reckoning."

"Fairness" and "Justice."

"Punishment" and "Judgment."

We must also see the identification of "sowing and reaping" (Galatians 6:7) with "the wages of sin" (Romans 6:23).

Hindus call it Karma . . . God calls it getting what you work for. God doesn't malevolently and maniacally rain down trouble and misfortune upon us . . . He just insures that our crops come up . . . our chickens come home to roost . . . our dogs come up on the porch.  

We choose to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and God has promised that when we do that we will experience Good if we choose to know it . . . and to know Evil, if that is our choice.

It was an odd situation for such a scoundrel to be on the right side of the reckoning that he was a witness to ("You ever seen anything like that?"  "#@$%, I never even heard of anything like that!")

He said with great pride and commitment, "Wyatt Earp is my Friend!"

Jesus . . . is mine.

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Do You Fear the Lord?

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."     Proverbs 1:7

Swing Away

Dialogue from Signs:

Cunningham: You didn't used to play baseball did ya? I know you. You're Merrill Hess! I was there the day you hit that 507-footer over the left field wall, set the record. Man, that thing had a motor on it. It's still the record right?

Merrill: Got the bat at home on the wall.

Cunningham: You've got two minor league home-run records, don't ya?

Merrill: Five.

Cunningham: Why weren't you in the pros making stacks of cash and getting your toes licked by beautiful women?

Lionel Prichard: 'Cause he has another record most people don't know about. He has the minor league strikeout record.

Merrill: Hello Lionel.

Lionel Prichard: Merrill's a class-A screw up. He would just swing that bat as hard as he could every time. Didn't matter what the coaches said, didn't matter who was on base. He would just whip that bat through the air as hard as he could. Looked like a lumberjack chopping down a tree. Merrill here has more strikeouts than any two players.

Cunningham: You really got the strikeout record?

Merrill: Felt wrong not to swing.

***************************************

Babe Ruth always held the MLB strike out record, too.

The only way to hit home runs is to swing.

Some people would never list themselves in strike out Hall of Fame. But they also never swung the bat.

You can't be afraid to fail . . . to strike out. At ANYTHING. If you are afraid, you will never hit the ball. You will never really be in the game at all.

Swing away.

"Did someone save me?"

Signs  2002  Mel Gibson

"Did someone save me?"

"Yeah, I think someone did."

Colleen:  "Graham . . . SEE!"            I want to see.  "Tell Merrill to swing away."

Bo:  "This water is contaminated!"

Merrill:  "It seemed wrong not to swing."  (Merrill was formerly the Strike Out King AND the Home Run King of their small town)

Graham:  "Swing away, Merrill."

Morgan:  "Dad . . . what happened?  Did someone save me?"

Graham:  "Yeah.  I think someone did."

No.  I don't believe people just get lucky (or unlucky).  I don't believe in coincidences.

I believe someone saved me.

See.

With me . . . without me.

Roy - "With me . . . without me . . . with me . . . without me."

June - "With me . . . .

Yeah, Tom Cruise is nuts (see Scientology), but I still enjoy his movies.  I've been watching him since Risky Business (though Rebecca DeMornay was the draw there -- not Tom dancing in his tighty-whities).

Here's two of my favorite scenes from Knight and Day.

It sometimes gets annoying, trying, testing . . . but God says this to me every day . . . . . .

Okay . . . . . . with you.

This idea (or proposition) seems to be the point of family, friendship, faith in God, community, church . . . . It's not religion or spirituality or mysticism.  I need you . . . and I hope that you need me. 

I don't want to live in a world without God.

It would be difficult living in a world without YOU.  I NEED you.  

With you . . . 

I want to pretend sometimes that I am strong alone.  I am independent.  Self-sufficient.  But, I'm not.

"Don't allow your hearts to be troubled . . . you believe in God . . . believe in me, too.   There is plenty of room where my Father lives.  If that were not the truth I wouldn't even mention it.

I'm leaving here so that I can go and prepare a place just for you . . . there.  If I leave here to do that, then I will make sure that you get there, so that you can be WITH ME."     John 14:1-3

I believe that He is WITH ME, now.  I believe that He has prepared a way so that I can be WITH HIM, later.

I want YOU to be WITH ME later, too.  WITH HIM . . . WITH ME . . . WITH US.

It is my hope . . . .  that being together . . . doesn't stop when my heart does.

Arriving

Emerson said, “Life is a journey . . . not a destination.”  (Also quoted recently by Steven Tyler in his autobiography “Does the Noise in My Head Hurt Your Ears?”)

Hemmingway said, “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

“We must be willing to stop and smell the roses along the way in life’s journey.” (Unknown).

I’ve heard hundreds of wise quotes like these . . . but none of them connect with me.  I’m all about ARRIVING, and I can’t help it.

I want to GET THERE!

Last week my son and I spent ten hours driving to Myrtle Beach to enjoy vacation time with family.  Then we spent ten hours driving back.  We had some quality father/son conversation, listened to good music, and sampled a couple of audio books.  But, being true men . . . we got everything personal, emotional, and familial talked out in the first hundred miles.

We’re close . . . we’re good . . . we’re caught up . . . our bond is strong . . . we’re done with all girly chit chat.  Let’s just get to Myrtle Beach so that the party can begin!

I am confident that we both enjoyed our time together.  We’re better people now that we have spent so much time enclosed in a small space hurtling at 80 miles an hour down life’s interstate, eating junk food and sipping sodas.  But . . . let’s just get to Myrtle Beach.  That’s where the seafood buffets are.  That’s where everybody is who is waiting for us.  That’s where the beach and the pool and the Ferris Wheel and the good times are.  When we ARRIVE . . . we no longer have to pretend that we’re having a good time . . . we can actually begin having a GOOD TIME!

Back in 1976 when I saw my first Star Trek reruns (I never watched a single episode during its actual run in the 60’s) and saw the technology of the TRANSPORTER . . . I knew that I had witnessed a scientific dream of the ONLY way to travel.  “Beam me up, Scotty!” and then beam me to Myrtle Beach . . . and then beam me back home.  That’s what I’m talking about . . . destinations only . . . a life filled with nothing but ARRIVING!

Now, God knows how I feel about this . . . because I’ve told him (as if I had to).  He has listened patiently and nodded his head sympathetically.  But I know that I’ll never change his mind, his will or his ways.  HE’S all about the journey.

He has told us a little bit about our final destination, and what little we know makes me want to be there NOW.  I believe his promises to his children about the end of our journey, but I cannot adapt to his philosophy of travel.  I don’t WANT to learn anything, I don’t WANT to grow and become mature and wise and deep.  All of that hurts too much.  It takes too long and most of it is unpleasant.

I don’t LIKE the scenic route.  I don’t enjoy the countryside.  I know there’s a beautiful rest stop, but we still have half a tank of gas, only a half full bladder, and a back seat full of snacks . . . let’s GET TO WHERE WE ARE GOING!!

HEAVEN?  Let’s get on with it!  Beam us up!

I don’t advocate self-cancellation of the journey.  (It’s funny that Hemmingway can wax so eloquently about life being a journey and not a destination and then taking a shotgun and blowing his head off.  Well, not funny . . . ).  No, I’m not dispensing Kool Aid or bagging my head to ride the comet.  I’ll walk the journey, I’ll follow the path, I’ll make the trip . . . I just will never be able to enjoy it as much as being THERE.

I’m not being disrespectful to God, or belligerent about his methods.  I’m willing to submit to his plan for my life, but I’ve tried to change, to adjust . . . and I can’t.

Yes, Dorothy, you could have . . . at any time during this entire harrowing movie filled with creepy Munchkins, talking scarecrows, haunted trees, wicked witches, and flying monkeys . . . simply clicked your heels together three times while chanting “There’s no place like home” and you would have been INSTANTLY transported to Aunty Em’s.

If I were Dorothy Gale I would have slapped Glenda so hard it would have made her bubble pop.

To me . . . there’s no place like home.  There’s no place like where I want to be.

I know . . . nobody wants to watch a movie about a girl from Kansas who gets blown by a tornado to a strange place over the rainbow who immediately finds magic slippers that can transport her magically back to Kansas!  I WANT the yellow brick road . . . for Dorothy . . . but I DON’T want the yellow brick road for ME!

If there is a shortcut – tell me about it.  If there is a cutoff – I want the option of taking it.  If there is a wormhole or an intersection between galactic planes through which I can travel – I want to take it.  THERE is what matters most to me.  THERE is where I’m going.  THERE is where the party is.

I realize that I am flawed.  I see that this is a shortcoming.  I have applied myself with great determination to change my nature over the years, but I have failed.

Terri hates watching television with me.

Nearly everything that we watch together was recorded earlier on the DVR.

I can watch a two-hour movie in thirty minutes using the fast-forward feature on the remote control.  I can watch a one-hour network show in a little over fifteen minutes.  I never watch commercials, promos, or lead-ins.   I get everything that I need from each show.  At the end of the program I am completely satisfied and entertained. 

What I hate is having to watch any show or movie in REAL TIME because it is all so predictable.  I know what the actor is going to say, what he is going to do next, who done it and how the show is going to end.  I’m not omniscient . . . today’s writers are just not very talented . . . and there really IS nothing new under the sun.  I can scan through a movie or a show or a book at warp speed . . . and all I need to pick up on is the little bits and pieces that I DIDN’T guess or deduce.

I never read the last chapter first . . . but I don’t have to read every single word in the book to get to the ending.

Let’s get to the ending.  (As the Apostle John said in Revelation 22, “Come, Lord Jesus!”)

Father, you’ve asked us over and over again if we love you . . . you know that we do, and we’ve tried diligently to feed your sheep and your lambs to prove it.  You’ve tested us and tried us . . . some we passed and others we failed.  You’ve sent us through the flood and through the fire, we’ve been on the cross, on the stake, and in the arena.  You’ve asked us to be in the world but not of the world . . . but frankly (and reverently) I’m ready to get out of this world.

Let’s get to the ending.

I’ve had enough journey.  Beam me up.  I’m ready to ARRIVE.
.

Why not just give up?

Why go on in the face of failure or defeat? 

Why persist in fighting the fight, running the race? Why go on? Why get up? Did you choose the red pill and wish to God that you had chosen the blue one? Are you falling head first down the rabbit hole? Do you really want to know how deep it goes? Do you want to climb back out? Click the heels of your ruby slippers together, hang it up, quit the dance, and go back to Kansas? 

Why get up, Mr. Anderson? Why go on? Why don't you just stay down? Why don't you quit, throw in the towel, call it a day? Why keep living and trying? 

"Because I choose to." 

God may be eternally Soverign. Omnipotent and Omniscient. He may have written devine decrees in eternity past, He may have a predetermined Plan, or be the Lord of Predestination. We may be living in an artificial matrix or merely reflecting holographic images shadow-fashion from the event horizion of some galactic black hole. 

But . . . I, too, believe that we can make choices. And our choices are real. If our choices are real . . . we are a paradox, and we have the capability of creating paradoxes, generating randomness, manufacturing our own chaos and uncertainty. 

I believe that Neo was right. Our choices are real. If our choices are real . . . then, to some extent . . . to the extent that we continue to choose . . . we are free. 

In Genesis 2:19 the Bible says that shortly after God created Man he brought all of the animals before him "to see what he would call (name) them." The implication is that a Sovereign, all-knowing God, created mankind with the paradoxical ability to amuse him. To surprise him. To make free, independent, undetermined, unprogramed, and deivinely unforeseen choices. 

This must be exstatically refreshing to a deity that knows everything, and everything that is going to happen. God created us with built-in devine blind spots. He shielded us, to some extent, from the forces of determinism that flow so powerfully from his essence. He made it possible for us to reject him, to disobey him, to thwart the plan, to defy what seemed inevitable. 

Our choices are real. They are ours. If we do not have anything . . . WHEN we do not have anything else . . . we have that. And the results . . . the consequences . . . are ours, too. We own them. And sometimes SALVATION, is saving us from them. From ourselves. 

But it is also our choice that makes salvation possible. That makes it real. That makes it happen. Why get up? Why go on? Because we choose to . . . And we continue to choose to . . . because we are free to do so . . . and we have the stubborn hope . . . that our choices and our struggles . . . can paradoxically, surprisingly, unpredictably, and inexplicably change the future. 

 The Holographic Universe

Are we living in a computer simulation? 

Philip K. Dick on The Matrix

Sam Harris on Free Will

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2001: A Space Odyssey "Something wonderful!"

This is my favorite scene from 2001 A Space Odyssey.  This is a conversation that I can imagine might take place if one of our deceased friends or loved ones contacted us from beyond their transition to let us know that the end of all things was soon to begin.

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Con Air

You can find God in the most unusual places. The movie Con Air is one of those places. If you've watched the first clip (above) you've seen that the film is violent and crude with lots of tension and melodrama. It's not a family film (a great deal of violence --- some adult situations and language) but it does portray some very good values in it's heroes.

Though the question about the existence of God is not a central theme of the movie it is one of the threads in the story where God makes a direct appearance (so to speak). The other threads of godliness are found in friendship, loyalty, devotion, commitment and courage in the face of overwhelming odds and circumstances.

Synopsis of the Movie: The name Con Air is a play on the airline named ComAir. The movie name refers to the fact that an airplane is being used to transport a group of dangerous criminals ("Cons" or "Convicts") by air to a high security prison facility.

Most of the passengers (all in shackles) are violent, high-risk, high-security criminals. Only a few are your average run-of-the-mill convict. One in particular --- our protagonist, Cameron Poe --- is a very low-risk prisoner who has really already served his time and is on the flight only as a means of transfering him from where he served . . . . to freedom.

But things go wrong almost immediately . . . the cons take over the plane . . . and the authorities are after them in hot pursuit to bring them down.

Poe is caught between the violent criminals on board the plane and the Feds --- trying to survive so that he can be reunited with his wife and see his daughter for the first time while at the same time trying to save the lives of the prison guards and his best friend who is first in diabetic shock and then wounded by gunfire.

It's complicated and moves fast --- but if you're paying attention you can see some very good qualities surfacing all through a very bad situation.

Con Air
1997
Touchstone Pictures
Directed by Simon West

Meet Garland Green: "He's on the right flight."

Garland Green is a serial-killing, mass-murderer who joins the cast of characters just after the Convicts take over the plane. The cons, posing as security guards, are forced to make one stop in the midst of their getaway to pick up this additional prisoner. If they fail to make this stop their cover will be blown to early in their escape.

Upon learning of this development Poe deadpans, "He's on the right flight."

That's a very dramatic attempt to see something "right" in a very "wrong" scenario!!

But sometimes with all the spin you can spin, all of the positive thinking, all of the optimism you can muster and looking for that silver lining behind that cloud there are just some situations that seem to be destined to be desolate and anything good.

And when just one more bad thing is thrown onto the pile we're not really surprised.

But here's a spoiler: good things do happen in this story . . . and it has a happy ending for our hero.

Believer's in God . . . . Christians in particular . . . . have been prophetically given the promise of good things even in bad times . . . . and a happy ending. That is a part of our faith. A part of what we are asked to anchor ourselves to.

When one bad thing after another is added to an already bad situation --- it doesn't necessarily mean that we are on the wrong flight. Not on the wrong path or out of God's will.

It is possible that, even though your life seems to have been high-jacked, you are on the right flight. You are exactly where God wants you to be.

Hang on. Don't lose hope.
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Creeps, Freaks, and "Hi, Garland."

It helps to be able to calmly size up a situation --- see through the fog, cut away the fiction, and take in a big breath of reality and then address the situation --- "Hi, Garland."

Some believers think that we can't be realists and still show great faith.

Do we have to pretend that everything is OK for everything to ultimately BE OK?

No, we don't have to be pitifully pious or have a silly "Praise God Anyway" grin on our face to face our difficulties as a believer.

We should always be willing to call a spade a spade and still believe that there is a God, He is in control, and we can trust Him even when we are surrounded by the dark and seem to have no hope. He has already proven Himself . . . we can believe that He is with us even now.
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As Good As It Gets

As Good As It Gets

1997 by TriStar Pictures

Starring Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall

and Helen Hunt as Carol Connelly

(Jack won an Oscar that year for best Actor for this film

and Helen Hunt won the Oscar for best Actress)

*This is not a family movie nor a movie that I recommend for anyone but adults. None of the characters give any evidence of any genuine spirituality or strong moral character. You must view it with discernment. It does have the possibility of inspiring compassion in the viewer and can give the Christian viewer insight into and understanding of lives that seem to be completely without Christ.

OCD        Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Melvin Udall is a fictional character playing a fiction writer who has a very real mental disorder. An affliction (he calls it an "ailment") called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD.

Obsessives feel compelled, driven, or forced to observe or enact and/or repeat small, mundane actions or verbal phrases with great detail and emphasis.

View this clip from As Good As It Gets to see an example of the kind of behavior that might be characteristic of someone suffering from OCD.

Locking and unlocking doors repeatedly to make sure that the door is locked. Turning a light on and off and on again to emphasize it's on-ness or off-ness in the obsessive's consciousness.

One common symptom of OCD is obsessive cleanliness. Lots of hand-washing and an inordinate attention to germs and the microscopic world of disease lurking on every object.

I have a touch of this affliction . . . I use a lot of Purell Hand Sanitizer, I straighten picture frames that don't even belong to me, I place pens and brochures and cards at the bank teller's station all in neat and orderly fashion while I make my deposit.

I've always been a perfectionist (not perfect, mind you. There is a difference) and I am never satisfied with any project until it has been fiddled with to near distraction.

I don't mean to. I don't intend to. I don't even really want to. But I must. I have to. I'm never completely at peace becasue I always believe that anything that I'm working on will be absolutely perfect if I adjust it, turn it, tune it or twist it just a little bit more! Just one more tweak.

And . . . I probably often offend others by changing their work. Making adjustments to their efforts. I'm sure that it seems like a criticism of them or their work when it is really just me bowing to compulsion.

ON THE OTHER HAND . . . do you know why I serve God and His People?

Because I want to.

The Bible does have a lot of commandments . . . but I believe that there is a joyous place for the Christian where he can live without feeling under duress . . . from within . . . or from above.

That part of my life is like an island of sanity. I hope that you have it, too. That you know it and experience it. If you don't . . . ask God for it. I believe that it is a prayer that He is waiting to answer for anyone and everyone.

What if . . . .    What if this is as good as it gets?

This is the scene in the movie from which the title is taken.

Melvin storms into his Psychiatrist's office in a panic. He obviously hasn't been there in a long time. He has neglected his professional care and medication.

His doctor refuses to meet him on his terms, so Melvin storms back out again. When he bursts into the waiting room on the way out he addresses this line to the strangers in the room. He assumes that the reason that they are there is the same as his reason.

He asks them the question that is on his heart. He doesn't expect them to answer . . . or to even have an answer. But it pours out of him anyway.

"What if this is as good as it gets?"

What if we will never get better? What if we will never be cured? What if what we want most in life will never be ours? What if there is no hope?

You might miss the most important line in the scene if you're not careful. It is a simple "Oh" that escapes from the mouth of one of the patients in the waiting room. We can't tell who uttered it. But they probably expressed the feelings of everyone in the room. It is an "Oh" of despair.

"Oh," I've wondered that myself. I've had that thought. I've thought that question.

The genuine believer in Christ never has to face the possibility of utter hopelessness.

There is more to the story. There are facts that we do not presently know. God is accomplishing things --- the whole of which we are not fully aware.

Believe with me the promises of scripture and in the nature and character of God. THIS is not all that there is.

It gets better than this . . . . whatever this is for you. Trust me.

Better yet . . . trust Him.

The Compliment        The Best Compliment of My Life

This scene starts out with Melvin saying, "I have a great compliment for you." This frightens Carol but she braces herself because she knows there's no stopping what's to follow.

And what follows is one of the greatest compliments I have ever heard.

It's a little complicated (like Melvin himself) and requires some setup and explanation. But it's worth it.

"You make me want to be a better man."

Nicholson's delivery and acting is superb as he fidgets and fumbles to say the lines as Melvin would. But what is priceless . . . perfection . . . and unforgettable . . . is the speechless changing expressions on Helen Hunt's face as Melvin's meaning dawns on her.

Watch her face. The camera zooms ever so slightly. There are actually about 5 different phases to her expression. Her eyes glisten with tears and ungraspable emotion.

I can watch it (and I have) over and over again. It always touches me.

"And the winner of the award for best female actress in a leading role is: Helen Hunt!"

She has my vote.

When Melvin says, "You make me . . ." Carol knows that he is describing something that is coming from a different place than all of the other voices and demons that he is a slave to every moment of his life.

He's not talking about a compulsion . . . he's not obsessed with her . . . he loves her. And what is coming from him now is something that he genuinely wants to give to Carol.

He's saying, "You inspire me," "You stir me," "You lift me up," "You empower me."

Is there anyone or anything in your life that makes you want to be a better man, a better woman?

This is what puts every thing that I "hate" (I'm using the word "hate" here) or every thing that I don't like or every thing that I wish was different in my life or in the the world in general a proper perspective.

I can do it, I can bear it, I can withstand it, I can surpass it. Because those very things -- my troubles, trials, and tribulations . . . have the greatest possibility of making me a better man.

And I want that.

OK. Here I go . . . . Lord, I want to offer you praise. You make me want to be a better man.

.

The Karate Kid

A Lesson about the Ways and Workings of God

The Karate Kid

1984 by Delphi Films

Starring: Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi

and Ralph Macchio as Daniel Larusso

*The Karate Kid is a good family movie, though there is fighting, confrontation and conflict. There is some mild profanity but nothing outrageous. The lessons and morals of the movie are about discipline, friendship, respect, loyalty and perseverance.

Daniel is a normal high school student being raised by a single Mom. He's being bullied by a pompous and arrogant classmate who is using his skills as a Karate student to reign terror on anyone who happens to catch his dislike. Daniel becomes a prime candidate for his cruelty.

Perhaps if he learns Karate himself, he can protect himself. He gives it a try but all he does is make matters worse --- he finds himself in a dangerous predicament --- until rescue comes.

Daniel is delivered from a beating at the hands of a Karate Class Gang from a new friend. An unassuming, small Japanese man named Mr. Miyagi.

Miyagi single-handedly whips the whole gang without really harming any of the bullies at all. He just embarrasses them. Those who have been only pretending at an art are shamed by a true Master.

Daniel is surprised, grateful and relieved to know that he now knows someone who can teach him how to defend himself.

With great reluctance, Mr. Miyagi agrees to teach Daniel the ancient martial art of Karate that he learned from his own Father.

Take a look at this first clip from the movie to see Daniel's first Karate Lesson.

  

It really looks more like washing and waxing Mr. Miyagi's car than a Karate Lesson. But Daniel is grateful to his deliverer and protector and owes him something for what Mr. Miyagi has done for him ---- so, wax on, wax off.

Karate Lesson number two seems to resemble sanding the floor or Mr. Miyagi's porch deck.

 

OK. So I'll "sand'a floor." Maybe we'll get to the real lesson after I get this chore done.

Karate Lesson number three is "paint'a fence."

 

Mr. Miyagi doesn't even have the decency to even show up for Karate Lesson number four --- "paint house."

Daniel's patience has worn very thin by now --- remember, he's still getting thrashed and bullied on a regular schedule. Embarrassed in front of his new girl friend -- humiliated in front of the whole school. And now he's being duped and taken advantage of by someone that he thought was sincerely offering to help him.

 

He can't pretend any more. He's hurt and angry. He's disappointed and disgusted. He's lost all respect for his benefactor. He thought that providence had presented him with an advocate --- a Father figure --- a fixer --- a friend.

He quits. He storms towards the door. He's done. Finished.

But Mr. Miyagi will not let him leave. He has to put it together for Daniel. Look at this last clip.

 

Daniel assumed that all that he was doing was serving Mr. Miyagi. How demeaning. How belittling. How humiliating.

Everything for the Master --- and nothing for the slave, the pupil, the student.

Who could have seen? Who could have known that Daniel was learning Karate . . . and much, much more.

He was learning Karate --- and he was getting stronger --- and being finely tuned and trained to grow and become a champion and most of all he as gaining character and patience. He was not just being prepared to beat someone up. He was being prepared for something more --- something better and of greater consequence.

Is God teaching you? Are you Learning?

I know that He is teaching you. Are you learning anything? Are you aware of it?

I mean the whole big picture, big lesson?

Don't you wish that God would just beat all of your bullies, defeat all of your foes? He can solve all your problems, resolve all of your conflicts, answer all of your prayers. Heal all of your diseases. Why doesn't He just do that?

Better yet . . . couldn't he just take you right to Heaven ---- right now?

The Karate Kid is a heart-warming, inspiring movie. It is entertaining and enjoyable but it also has a lesson for all of us. A moral.

Do you want to know the message that I got from God while watching this movie?

He said "Wax on, wax off. Sand my floors, paint my fence and my house. Do whatever I ask you to do --- without hesitation and without doubt and question." "Trust me." "Serve me."

"I have a plan for you --- it is my intention to do something good for you." (Jeremiah 29:11)

And here are the words that clinch this lesson for me --- and show me how to apply it --- how to live it -------- "Look eyes . . . . " "Always look eyes."

God does want you to bow to Him ---- but the main thing is ----- always keep your eyes on Him. Always.