A few years ago there was a Stephen Spielberg film where Tom Cruise was part of a crime fighting team that had the ability to see into the future and see who would become a murderer. He and others would then take action to prevent murders before they ever happened. I won’t tell you what happens from there in case you have not seen it, but let’s just say that Tom Cruise learns that just because something is predicted by the majority does not mean it will come true.
In many ways that’s what we have going on in Numbers chapter 13. We have the majority report: the spies that come back and say that there is no way the Israelites can take the giants who inhabit the land. Then there is the minority report…the two who say it can be done with God’s power. The end of the story shows us that the majority report was wrong, and it cost the Israelites dearly to depend on their report.
There is a new movie just out called Facing the Giants (www.facingthegiants.com). I have not seen it yet, but I know it is very much the opposite of a Spielberg film in its budget. Facing the Giants was made by a church in Georgia on a shoestring budget, yet it has been picked up by a major studio and placed on screens all over America. It’s about a high school football team that “faces up to their fears”…I’m just guessing that the other team is called “The Giants.”
While I am not sure about the film, they certainly have a great message for human beings because we have a many-century track record of being afraid to face giants. We look at our lives and see the giants that face us… giants like alcohol, pornography, bitterness, anger…we look at those giants and we say, “There is no way they can be defeated.” And when we look at our world, the majority report tells us that we are correct…these and other giants seem to destroy and threaten and dominate all too often.
Yet the minority report tells us what is true about the future. God can easily take on the giants. That’s what numbers chapters 13 and 14 tell us, and this week we have a chance to be reminded again of how true it is.
Mark
In many ways that’s what we have going on in Numbers chapter 13. We have the majority report: the spies that come back and say that there is no way the Israelites can take the giants who inhabit the land. Then there is the minority report…the two who say it can be done with God’s power. The end of the story shows us that the majority report was wrong, and it cost the Israelites dearly to depend on their report.
There is a new movie just out called Facing the Giants (www.facingthegiants.com). I have not seen it yet, but I know it is very much the opposite of a Spielberg film in its budget. Facing the Giants was made by a church in Georgia on a shoestring budget, yet it has been picked up by a major studio and placed on screens all over America. It’s about a high school football team that “faces up to their fears”…I’m just guessing that the other team is called “The Giants.”
While I am not sure about the film, they certainly have a great message for human beings because we have a many-century track record of being afraid to face giants. We look at our lives and see the giants that face us… giants like alcohol, pornography, bitterness, anger…we look at those giants and we say, “There is no way they can be defeated.” And when we look at our world, the majority report tells us that we are correct…these and other giants seem to destroy and threaten and dominate all too often.
Yet the minority report tells us what is true about the future. God can easily take on the giants. That’s what numbers chapters 13 and 14 tell us, and this week we have a chance to be reminded again of how true it is.
Mark
No comments:
Post a Comment