Do you like watching old movies? Every now and then we will rent something we watched when we were kids for our family to watch together. This past weekend we actually had to rent an older inspirational movie for my daughter’s school assignment. She chose The Karate Kid. Did you ever see it? If you did, the phrase “wax on, wax off” will bring a chuckle.
The assignment was to choose a movie from the list provided and see if you can determine why it is considered inspirational and write about it. I found myself watching the movie through different eyes. I know the assignment was of a secular nature; however, I found myself looking for Jesus in the movie. I couldn’t help but think of the verse in Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” From a very young age I was taught God is everywhere. This weekend, I found him in a secular PG movie (that would probably be PG-13 today).
Mr. Miyagi and Daniel became friends once Daniel moved to an apartment complex where Mr. Miyagi was the superintendent. One day Daniel came into Mr. Miyagi’s shop to find him trimming Bonsai trees. He was asking him about them when Mr. Miyagi sat Daniel in front of one and put some clippers in his hand. Daniel protested and said he had no idea how to do it. Mr. Miyagi told him to close his eyes and picture how the tree should look and then open his eyes and begin taking away everything that didn’t belong.
Have you found Jesus yet in the story? The Lord knows what each of us was created to become [Genesis 1:26], however, we have picked up things along our journey in life that have distorted us [Romans 3:23]. God is the Gardener and He prunes away the things in our lives that don’t belong [John 15:1-2].
Sometimes pruning may hurt and it may feel like we’re having a whole chunk of ourselves cut away. We must trust the Creator knows what the creation is supposed to be [Isaiah 45:9].
We must learn to live by Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”