There is only one scene I recall from the movie, A Few Good Men. It's when Daniel Kafee (Tom Cruise) demands the truth behind the death of a soldier, in which Colonel Jessep (Jack Nicholson) emphatically counters, "You can't handle the truth!" This famous line has since become one of the most utilized movie catchphrases, commonly found in parodies, satires, and friendly banter amongst friends.
As I revisit the film that undeniably traces the harsh road to unraveling the ugly truth behind human nature and its absorption of power and abuse, I am reminded of the call for us Christians to live lives that are directly contrary to the patterns of the world in seeking the truth in God's perfect will for our lives and humankind. This truth that we strive for is certainly one that we can handle, as we walk to obey the command, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2).
I would like to talk about a few good women today-- godly, upright women who have committed themselves to serve as mentors in the Fellows Program. They come from various walks of life and span across a great spectrum of testimonies and conversion stories. These are women who have conscientiously made the decision to interrupt their lives to help us walk through this journey in utmost respect and humility. They have availed themselves to love, listen, and rebuke at times in order to guide us in the way we should go so we do not depart from the truth (adaptation of Psalm 22:6).
We first met the mentors during the kick-off weekend few weeks back. We were introduced to these ladies, who would spend the weekend with us in the Blueridge Mountains. We were to eat, laugh, and perhaps cry together... and ultimately decide which of the four would best fit our needs for one-on-one mentorship. Throughout the weekend, the mentors were intentional about giving each one of us an opportunity to get to know them and to arrive at our own decisions.
I initially wondered why the choice was given to us in the first place. All the ladies seemed wonderful, and I would have been fortunate to have any of them assigned to me and intricately embedded into my life. They each seemed to carry an element of me, and I knew their unique insights (through their lived struggles and triumphs) would help develop me as a mature Christian woman. But as I surrendered to the process, God soon revealed distinct needs in my life that could be addressed by each mentor. I then had to lay them down and decide on the element that would benefit the most from a mentor-mentee relationship.
I met with my mentor one-on-one for the first time this past weekend. I felt the conversation was an indication after another that this union was not a random act but one that had been guided by the Lord. This reminded me of the freedom I mentioned in the previous post, the great freedom that Christ gives us to soar with Him within His bounds. Although there had been boundaries set by the program to select a mentor from a pool of the designated four, we were given the freedom to choose who would best fit our needs. And before such selection could be made, we were challenged to identify, delineate, and grapple with different aspects of our personhood to clearly articulate our vulnerabilities.
Christ has given us the great freedom to explore our lives even though the outcome is ultimately His. Instead of forcing every thought and action on us, He allows us to partner with Him and struggle through life with Him. And though I had planned the course in arriving at the decision, it was the Lord who had already determined and guided the steps to His ultimate outcome and provision (adaptation of Proverbs 16:9). It is in this that I marvel at God for allowing His brilliance to shine upon the C. S. Lewis Institute to design and implement the program to reflect His ways of doing things and to allow us to grasp His intelligence both through our minds and hearts.
Is this the type of truth I want and could handle? I've never been so sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment