run? part II

February 25, 2004

there was something i didn't realize in taking the two theatre classes. while i knew it would be challenging for me to be in the courses, i didn't realize that it would remain challenging. i forgot that i would have to persevere through it if things got tougher. my problem was, that i didn't think it'd get any tougher. but it did. i was handed back one of my assignments (several weeks ago) and didn't do as well as i had thought, despite the efforts i put into the paper. it was so much of a disappointment to me, that i wanted to drop the course again. and i wanted to drop it bad. isn't that so reflective of our first instinct in human nature? when you put your best effort into something and you fail, you run, you quit, you abandon whatever it is that you were doing and try something else.

i've never been like that though. i've always persisted. i'm one that'll tough things out until i achieve what i set out to do. i remember way back when i took swimming lessons and i reached the grey level at a really young age. i was much younger than everyone else in the class, and as such, i wasn't strong enough to pass the course. i took the class six times before i passed it! that's right, six times. talk about falling off the horse time and time again. but that didn't stop me. my mind was made up, i was going to pass the course and i did, through perseverance.

of course, it's all easier said than done. perseverance isn't easy, especially in the midst of disappointment and failure, but it's necessary. it's a matter of perspective and setting our eyes on the goal, not on the circumstance. if we're willing to be stretched in our faith, then we need to be prepared for the long haul, because it'll get inevitably get tough. there will be things that happen that we don't expect. there will be things that happen that may even disappoint us. if we aren't ready to persevere and stick it through, our desire to be stretched will simply fade away.

i can't think of a better example of perseverance than Christ's death on the cross for us. it epitomizes what perseverance entails. can you imagine what it would have been like for Him to hang on the cross, when He could have at ANY TIME, called an arsenal of angels at His command to take Him down in the blink of an eye? but He didn't. He chose not to. He knew what He had to, despite the incredible pain and suffering He had to endure. and since none of us know what that's like, read some of the comments on the "passion of the Christ" from the toronto star today.

"this movie is little else besides a depiction of punishment so ruthless and unyielding that watching it unfold feels like punishment" - newsday

"this is the most violent film i have ever seen" - roger ebert

"more obsessed with capturing every holy drop of martyr's blood and sacred globe of flesh than with any message of Christian love" - the boston globe

"if torture is your idea of redemption, you can get it here on both sides of the screen" - the toronto star

the world is shocked at the brutality and violence that is depicted in the movie. and most of them think it's just a movie or a myth. but that's what really happened. that's what Jesus persevered through for us. and that's the kind of perseverance we should strive for. sure, it's highly unlikely that any of us would ever be subjected to those circumstances, but nonetheless, that's what perseverance entails. fixing our eyes solely on the prize, and going after it with all we've got.

"may the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance" (2 thessalonians 3:5 [NIV])

Posted by Leo Chan at February 25, 2004 9:40 PM