One great movie

Today I saw one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. When I say that, I'm not necessarily speaking in terms of special effects or star power, but by a standard a little more ambiguous.

Facing the Giants is a film that won't be out until Sept. 29, but a preview of it was given to employees of the GBC and others. It had a few elements that in almost any movie are guaranteed to get me misty, namely sports and father-son themes. But with the film being produced by Sherwood Baptist Church, there was a faith element that takes its impact a step further.

I keep playing that particular theme over and over in my head: Do I give God my best? It's easy for me to say I do, but I know I don't nearly as often as I could. The problem is that to do the best I can do, I have to risk failure. I have to aim higher than is comfortable for me. I have to be willing to fail.

That takes the final results more out of my hands. If I aim low, I have more control of the outcome. My success is guaranteed, up to a certain point. Once things get a little tight, I can call ball game and declare myself a winner. But am I?

Doing my best for God in everything I do requires I go to a point where failure is a definite possibility and my own weakness and limitations become exposed for everyone to see. It demands that I die to my own pride and put myself out there for God to finish something I can't complete or accomplish on my own, as much as I would like to retain all the glory for myself, I'm unable to if I achieve something beyond the realm of my own talent and skill. Things that are given to me by God, anyway.

For me to do better than I ever have, I have to be willing to trust in something bigger than myself. In falling, I have to learn the lesson provided and gloriy God for the experience. In succeeding, I must be willing to do the same.