Being a fan of athletics, I normally like a good movie with an athletic theme. I think about Hoosiers as it reminds me of my high school basketball days in a small town. Who hasn’t watched the movie Rudy, the story of the young man who idolized Notre Dame football and became a walk-on for that program? Now, I must admit I am not a huge Rudy fan but there is a scene that I remember. During a particularly troubling time in Rudy’s quest to make the team, he visits a priest. The priest shares the following quote with him, “Son, in thirty-five years of religious study, I have only come up with two hard incontrovertible facts: there is a GOD, and I’m not Him.” I like that quote.
This reminds me of Joseph near the end of the book of Genesis. When his brothers came to him and fell down before his face and proclaimed that they were his servants, Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of GOD?” (Gen. 50:19).
The King of Israel expressed similar thoughts in 2 Kings 5:7, “Am I GOD?”
Jacob, in Genesis 30:2, asked, “Am I in the place of GOD?”
These are good questions for me. I need to realize there are many things over which I have no control. There are many problems for which I have no solution. There are many wrongs that I simply cannot make right. But thanks to Him, I serve a GOD that only expects me to do what I can and He takes care of the rest. I must pray like it all depends on Him and work as though it all depends on me. That is all He expects out of me. I don’t seriously ever forget that I am not GOD, but sometimes my lack of faith probably makes it appear that way.
Rudy… like most good movies ends well, and almost always draws a tear when they carry him off the field at the end. But it is still not my favorite. One reason I am not particularly fond of Rudy is that I am not a Notre Dame fan. But I do like their fight song. It was our fight song in high school and it still rings up those old memories of high school pep rallies and Friday night football games. I can close my eyes and I am scoring a TD for my old high school. Cheer, cheer for old Winston High…ok maybe the translation misses something.