Legend …How to become one (Part One)

Have you ever thought about what it takes to be a legend? Legends are big, storied, heroic, inspiring, captivating, compelling, interesting, world-changing, and much more. Who, really, would not like to go down in history having attained “legendary” status?

In his recent movie, Legend, Will Smith plays the role of a scientist/virologist attempting to save the world. Surprisingly, this sci-fi thriller (the fourth in a line of productions based on a popular book from the 1950s) has a number of redeeming messages, and a very cool plot. The story draws out the horrifying implications of a virulent cure for cancer gone all too wrong. What initially appears as the cure for cancer, in the end, turns out to be a species altering virus which turns humans into beastly vampire-like carnivores who are taking over the world and destroying it as they go.

This week we are going to look at the implications of “going wrong” and “getting it right” as it relates to living the life God offers us. Along the way, we will see the critical importance of putting on the character of Christ as we attempt to live at peace within ourselves and as we seek to impact the world around us. The journey, I hope, will prove two things. First, when we get it wrong, we leave a legacy. Second, when we get it right, we leave a legacy. I will often reference the movie, Legend, in an attempt to highlight some critical themes we must be aware of if our lives are to be “legendary” in the truest sense of the word.

Legend Making

What we find central to the plot in Legend, and in fact central to the plot of human existence, is that things we thought would be good for us often turn out to be, most horribly, all wrong for everyone. In the movie, which opens with a hopeful scene in which a famous scientist is being interviewed on the evening news telling of the recently established cure for cancer, we eventually find the dark reality of the promise–all hell breaks loose, literally. The same was true in the garden of Eden where Adam and Eve were promised a “cure” for their God imposed restriction from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan’s lie, a false cure, turned on them. Convinced that life on the other side of that fruit, that knowledge, would be enlightening, they took the bait, and found a world of destruction awaiting them. History records this event as “The Fall”.

This image of “falling” is vividly portrayed in Legend as we see a world, once teaming with life and beauty, descending into increasing darkness. In a world where the hope for goodness and beauty has been quenched, a thirst for blood, and an addiction to ravenous behavior settles in. As it is true in Legend, so it was for Adam and Eve, and it remains so for us. Void of a hope for goodness, and amidst an abandonment of the Golden Rule, what are we left with?

As a society, and as individuals, our souls become darkened and doomed by such all-consuming thirsts. The craving for the desires of our contaminated flesh only leave us more hungry for that which entraps us in ever-increasing blackness. Many a king, preacher, husband, and wife can attest to such in the aftermath of a marriage or office undone amidst the scandal of infidelity and corruption. Many and addict can tell of the soul-consuming affects of looking to that first taste of a false “cure” for the depth of pain they found themselves in. Looking for a few moments of ease and forgetfulness, the proposed cure, after all, turned out to be the door to a life of pain and darkness beyond anything they could have imagined.

Howard Hughes, as history tells us, died a legendary death. After a life of money making, power groping, sex craving, lust appeasement, and hedonistic pursuits, he died miserable, alone, mad, and in utter despair. The fall, once completed, has this affect on each of us. Falling prey to pursuits that are in conflict with God’s dreams for us leaves us without a purpose and hope for the journey ahead.

Thinking that we can find ourselves without the direction of God in our life exposes us to the soul-consuming darkness which leads to our fall and misery. Once this virus of the soul is full-blown it results in misery for the feelings, confusion for the mind, and corruption of the will. When that takes place the nature of our legend making is secured. Like Hughes, Monroe, and so many others, aside from God’s cure, we make legendary messes of our lives. In this state of “falleness” we find relationships deteriorating, energy being depleted, emotions convoluted, feelings warped, and our thinking debased.

O.k., that is the depressing bad news about life apart from God. The good news is that there is indeed a cure. Fundamentally, as in the movie and also in life, the cure is in the blood. We, like Will Smith, can experiment with many a false cure only to be ultimately disappointed. Eventually, if we are listening to the whispers of God brought into our lives, we are brought to the hopeful reality that THE CURE is found in the blood (life, death, and resurrection of Christ) of one man, The Man. As we will see throughout this week, our lives are cured of many ills when we come to the Great Physician for healing. Amidst the despair of our lives and the wreckage of our souls, we find, by stepping into the light of God’s truth, that a transformation can take place. Once the cure is applied we are given a new opportunity to live like we are cured and we are able to bring the cure to others.

Walled in by a life of practices contrary to the principles of God it is hard to see where the light is dawning. Afraid to even consider what healing might look like, we settle for a fortressed existence closed off from the possibility that new life is waiting to spring forth from the rubble around us. Yet, God is whispering to us in the darkness. Can you hear Him? His call to you is simple, but profoundly life-altering, “Come into the light.” In this Light, the darkness is vanquished, and life takes wings. Are you ready for a cure? The Cure? Perhaps, your time has come.

Hear His voice this week, walk in the Cure,

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

This entry was posted on 17. December 2007 at 09:46 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.