Saturday

A walk on the blind side

Sandra Bullock gave her career a major fillip in her role as Lee Ann Tuohy, the star role of the movie, "The Blind Side". I was never quite able to enjoy Ms Bullock, maybe because her career was spoilt by earlier silly roles. But she really does put that right in this great movie.

Her co-star, Quinton Aaron, plays the role of Michael Oher, a giant black boy who is given an outside chance in an upmarket Christian School. But he has no chance really, not as long as his core needs are left unresolved. Those needs include having no place to live, no bed to lie on, no regular supply of food, no ability to read or learn, no surname, no identity and a sadly diminished sense of self.

The strong-willed wife and mother of two takes Oher home to live in their very comfortable home. That leads to a long journey that results in her formally adopting him and raising him as her own child. He starts to excel at football, but cannot hope to break through to a much treasured scholarship without a radical improvement in his grades. With the help of the family and a professional tutor, they achieve that goal. But in doing so she incurs some criticism from her bigoted southern friends. When one comments, condascendingly, on how she was changing his life, she softly replies, "No he is changing mine". 

It got me thinking about the spiritual journey that we are all on, a journey that brings us all into a personal one-on-one walk with Jesus. The great reward to that journey is also adoption and restoration of our spritual identity, although the legal ramifications far exceed mere adoption or a change of title. He has divided His own inheritance with us, to make us fellow heirs of the kingdom of God.  

In reaching out to us, Jesus certainly acquired global significance. The world knows Him and He is adored by Christendom. His mark of history is beyond reproach. No one ever moved the worlds or shaped the destiny of nations as He did. No one touched the hearts of humanity as He has, yet for all the significance it brought to Him, of greater personal value is the surpassing value of what He did for me and you. His death and resurrection may have lifted a simple carpenter to greatness, but He, in turn, He changed our lives forever .... and for that I remain eternally greatful. 

(c) Peter Eleazar @ www.4u2live.net

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