In The Blink Of An Eye

I wasn't feeling well for most of the day - too much work done by this old body the day before perhaps. I had a headache, numerous body aches and I slept until noon. Not much thought was given to going to church or what I would write for this story. So I asked God what I should write about and picked up my Bible.

The book of Acts that I was reading didn't reveal any story thoughts beyond how the Gospel was spreading in the early church, so I sat down in the living room, exhausted. My wife was making biscuits in the other room and was pampering me most of the day. She offered me some soup and a grilled cheese. That sounded perfect as I searched for something to watch on TV. Blah.

Have you ever heard of a show called 30 for 30? It's on ESPN. I had never heard of it either but I began watching it anyway. This particular show featured the rise and fall of one Brian Bosworth - a former college football player, full of himself . . . destined to burn out . . . for a purpose.

The Boz, as he labeled himself, was an extremely good middle linebacker. Extremely good! And that's just how The Boz felt about himself. Soon The Boz began taking over Brian and the resulting egomaniac burned nearly every bridge he had. He had it all until he experienced a career ending shoulder injury. He had it all and then lost it all in the blink of an eye. One season in the NFL and done.

During the show I kept noticing that the "post-crash" Bosworth was wearing a cross around his neck. So, I did a little research and found this video of Brian giving his testimony.

Life Today - Brian Bosworth

As I watched his testimony I thought back to the 30 for 30 video I had just seen. A man who had everything and then suddenly lost it all - in the blink of an eye. I remembered reading about Job in the Bible and how HE had lost it all. Yet, in the end, God had blessed Job because of his faith. Such was the case for Brian Bosworth. Brian now makes Christian movies. Search for Revelation Road.

After all my Brian Bosworth research, I went into the living room to see what my wife was watching on TV. It was the end scenes of the movie Shawshank Redemption. As Red (Morgan Freeman) is heading south on a bus to meet up with his long, lost friend Andy, he offers these words of encouragement for us all to remember.

"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope." - Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding

That's when I knew what God wanted me to write about today. Hope. Brian Bosworth was a very lost young man. He was very full of himself, thinking he didn't need God because he was The Boz! What Brian REALLY needed was Jesus Christ. His testimony shows us all that there is ALWAYS hope when we place our faith in Jesus. God can rescue even the most lost person on earth - a middle linebacker, a convicted criminal, anyone. There is incredible, undeniable hope, in Christ.

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Shawshank Redemption