Statue of Liberty Play, It Only Works Once, Don't Throw It Away

Last night I had another opportunity to speak at College Drive Devo. "Devo", as we originally call it, has become one of the most important parts of my week here at ACU. I look forward to gathering with people, all of whom are right around my age, to praise God and listen to a different speaker each week.

It might be the fact that it is entirely student-organized and led is what draws me to it so strongly. Yes, each week might not feature someone with a doctorate talking about the original, exegitical meaning of some piece of New Testament scripture, but there is a honesty and openness at Devo that is very refreshing. When people speak, they speak from a place of openness and vulnerability about the fact that we don't have everything figured out about God and what is going on in this crazy world.
In other news, I am currently reading Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. If I did not know that Lansing's book chronicled actual historical events, I would readily assume that it was a work of fiction, due to the almost unbelievable nature of the story.

I don't want to go into a small-scale synopsis of Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition, but I would like to comment on one the most striking themes of the book so far: the incredible confidence and hope that the men of the expedition possessed, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. It is difficult to make judgments on how one would act in such a situation until it becomes a reality, but I know that I would have a very difficult time keeping a positive outlook on the situation if I were stranded on an Antarctic ice floe with a brutal winter rushing on and a fine diet of seal blubber in my stomach.

My favorite part of The Shawshank Redemption, besides Zihuatinejo, is the scene in the prison-yard with this voice-over from Red:

"I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn't normal around here. He strolled like a man in a park without a care or worry. Like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place."

That's an incredible lesson when I really think about it. To realize that if you know who you are and where you are going, you don't have to be sucked into the rules and games of this world. This should not be confused with a type of condescension that has caused many Christians to alienate those who do not know the love of Christ. The key is to remember that Christ did not rescue us from this world so that we would continue to settle for less than everything he wants for us.

That is what a hurting world needs and that is what we cannot shut up about.