Here is a link to the video clip of the scene:
YouTube video
Now, this scene was more about a son trying to tell his father that "he doesn't think of himself as a 'colored man'. He sees himself as a man."
However, when any person gets the feeling that they have sacrificed enough for his/her family and wonders..."when do I get my life back?"...or, "why are my kids not following in my footsteps?" or, "why isn't this or that being done the way I did it?" etc. - we could certainly relate to the frustration that the dad exhibited in that scene. He felt that because he carried a mail bag over 75,000 miles over the course of 30 years, his son "owed" him something. But Poitier's line, "you did what you were supposed to do" is a classic!
Think about it. Our parents sacrificed for our sakes. We now sacrifice for our children (and, in some cases, for our elderly parents who need extra care now). One day, (hopefully), our children will sacrifice for their children (and with millions of baby-boomers retiring and getting older), those children may need to sacrifice for us, too! But that is what families are all about...aren't they?
I truly believe that when we sacrifice for our loved ones, it is pleasing to the Lord. We are to take care of each other! That was the way it was when I was growing up. My parents scrimped and saved for me and my siblings. They gave us all a good life. We weren't rich, but we were well cared for.
I recall my grandparents being taken care of by my mom and dad. Each of their siblings helped out too.
I recently became aware of the fact that my mom helped out a nephew during a desperate time of need. Living a yielded life for family members extends itself out in that direction, too. If we are able, we help and care for one another.
The same applies towards friends!
Recall that scene in the Wizard of Oz where the wizard quips to the Tin man: "And remember my sentimental friend. A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others."
And sometimes, being loved by others also means being there for them because you may be the first one they call in an emergency!
Time out for a brief story. I had just come in from raking sticks and wood shavings after we had a tree service company chop down, cut up, and haul away three trees from our back yard. A fourth tree fell during all the rainstorms we have had. All of the trees had caught some kind of a disease and died. I had never seen a dead tree before.
Anyway, just as I was about to get into the shower I get a panicked call from my best friend! The call broke up right in the middle of what she was saying. It sounded like, "Chris! I have an emergency! I'm over by Melrose Dr. and my car f....ire. I said, "what?" Then she said, "Oh, an officer just stopped. I'll call you back." I took a 1 minute shower and got dressed to go "rescue" my friend from what I thought was a car fire! As it turned out, she only had a flat tire. Others came to her aid that day instead of me. But later, when she texted me that "she has been rescued," she also wrote, "when anything bad happens, you are the first I think of to call...lucky you." I had to chuckle about that. Was so glad it wasn't anything as serious as a car fire!
I got to thinking about that incident after watching and listening to Dr. Jeremiah's sermon this morning. I thought that here I was, ready to jump in my car and drive to save my friend from her dilemma because she needed help. So...why don't I feel that way about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others? Why don't I have that "fire" within me to rescue relatives, friends, and acquaintances from an eternity without Christ? When I think of all the people I know who aren't saved, why am I reluctant to share Jesus Christ with them? I think that Dr. Jeremiah told me, point blank, during his sermon. Not enough prayer.
Is your prayer life suffering? I know that mine could be much stronger! It is something I am working on this year.
My car dilemma friend is already saved. We attended many Bible studies together over the years so that I could be certain of her salvation. This past November, she gave me a silver heart pendant that reads on the inside, "A true friend reaches for your hand but touches your heart." Wow...what a weepy, tears-of-joy lunch we had the day she gave me that birthday gift! We have been through many challenges over the years and have helped and supported each other through the good, the bad, and the ugly events in life. My dear friend has reached out for my hand many times over the years, and has touched my heart in the way that only a true friend ever could! [K - if you are reading this - no tears!]
When I think of a "Heart that is loved by others," and One who "touches your heart" there is one Person, more than any other Person who has ever walked this earth that stands out as the best example - Jesus Christ. We already know how much He loves us! But can we even fathom how much He is loved by others? How many billions of people who have inhabited the earth over the centuries have been, and are, lovers of the Lord of Life? Can anyone even make a guesstimate?
Jesus is speaking:
Jhn 10:9 "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Jhn 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Jhn 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
There is no greater love!
This leads me to the sermon by Dr. David Jeremiah on today's Turning Point Ministry T.V. broadcast. In his new series, "Signs of Life" Dr. Jeremiah points out what we, as Christian believers and lovers of Christ, are to be doing while here on this earth.
My Talk Wisdom forum friend Sothenes shared a link that demonstrates how desperately the Christian church needs these "Signs of Life." Go read Six Megathemes Emerge from Barna Group Research in 2010. There are one or two good things on that list, but most of them are terribly disappointing to read!
Contrast what is written in that report with what Dr. Jeremiah discusses in his "Worn-Out Knees - Living a Yielded Life" message.
Enjoy this excellent lesson! Please share your thoughts in the comment section!
Christine
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You can watch this week's broadcast at Dr. David Jeremiah.org Just click on the green box that reads, "WATCH NOW, THIS WEEK'S BROADCAST."
About the series:
Signs of Life
ABOUT THE CURRENT TELEVISION SERIES
A man named Dennis, who lived in Katy, Texas, was preparing to go out of town on a Tuesday. And as usual, he was behind schedule in his preparations. He needed to take a suit to the cleaners and get it back the same day. He remembered a dry-cleaners in his town with a big sign that said, “One-Hour Dry Cleaners.” Perfect, he thought. So he drove across town to the establishment.
After filling out the drop-off ticket, he said, “I’ll need to get this back in an hour.”
The clerk said, “Sorry, but the soonest I can have it for you is Thursday.”
“I thought you did dry-cleaning in an hour,” Dennis said, surprised.
“No,” the clerk replied, “that’s just the name of the store.”
A one-hour dry cleaners that doesn’t do dry-cleaning in an hour? How confusing is that? Probably just as confusing as Christians who claim to be Christians but fail to act like the one whose name they bear.
A man named Dennis, who lived in Katy, Texas, was preparing to go out of town on a Tuesday. And as usual, he was behind schedule in his preparations. He needed to take a suit to the cleaners and get it back the same day. He remembered a dry-cleaners in his town with a big sign that said, “One-Hour Dry Cleaners.” Perfect, he thought. So he drove across town to the establishment.
After filling out the drop-off ticket, he said, “I’ll need to get this back in an hour.”
The clerk said, “Sorry, but the soonest I can have it for you is Thursday.”
“I thought you did dry-cleaning in an hour,” Dennis said, surprised.
“No,” the clerk replied, “that’s just the name of the store.”
A one-hour dry cleaners that doesn’t do dry-cleaning in an hour? How confusing is that? Probably just as confusing as Christians who claim to be Christians but fail to act like the one whose name they bear.
Imagine a professing Christian screaming and shouting obscenities and shaking his fist at someone who cuts him off in traffic. “I thought you were a Christian,” his car-pool companion says. “Oh, no,” the driver responds, “that’s just what I tell people at work. It’s just a label I use to make people think I’m a nice person.”
Can you imagine? It’s only right for people to expect those who follow Jesus Christ to bear some resemblance to Him and to obey His teachings. As someone has said, “If you’re gonna wear the name, you need to act the same.”
What are the signs that a person who claims to be a Christian is a true follower of Jesus Christ? There are many, of course, but a good example is one Jesus gave directly to His twelve disciples. “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Love, compassion, tenderness, understanding, forgiveness—because Jesus manifested those traits, so should we who claim to be His disciples.
The purpose of this series is to examine five categories of divine life that should be evident in every Christian. “Signs of life” they are called: Dusty Shoes (a relevant life), Worn-Out Knees (a yielded, peaceful, and submissive life), Rolled-Up Sleeves (an authentic, servant’s life), Open Hands (a generous life based on God’s Harvest Law), and Outstretched Arms (a compassionate, community-based life). These lifestyle traits are like signs that we hang over the door to our life that tell people what they should expect to find within. And because these were all traits that Jesus Christ manifested in His life, when people enter into a relationship with us, they gain some perspective on who Christ is.
If the church is going to make an impact in this world, it will do so only on the basis of authenticity and truthfulness. We cannot claim to be one thing with our words and then reveal we are something different by our lives. These signs of life certainly need to be practiced within the church, but they definitely need to be practiced in the Christian’s neighborhood, workplace, and community as well.
Signs of Life can serve as a self-evaluation tool for every Christian. By building the five categories of signs of life into one’s walk with Christ, there’ll be no inconsistency at all.
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