Acts 9:17-18 "And Ananis went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' Immediately there fell for his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized"
I was watching the recent remake of Little Women - which, incidentally, is very good - and I was struck by the final scene. Jo March, who is such a passionate writer that she often stays up all night as the words come tumbling out of her, finally is watching her book come to life. She stands there smiling as the words are pressed, the paper is slowly stitched, a red leather cover is attached, then finally the title is pressed into it and finished with fine gold leaf. After following her and the rest of the characters through a journey filled with laughter and tears, I was transported to that place of triumph with her as a look of quietly reserved joy crossed her face. If you know anything of the character, you understand how beautifully understated this scene is. As Jo gently hugs the small red-bound tome and the screen turns to black, I am moved to tears. What must it be like to see your ideas come to life in such a tangible way? Back then, when Alcott herself was writing, the process was arduous for both the author and the printer alike. What a magnificent sense of accomplishment it must have been.
My son, who is also a published author, knows what it is like to bring a story into the world. He understands, like all authors, that from a small seed of an idea, something amazing can grow. He also understands how it feels to hold a printed book of the words he put together in his hands for the first time. I must say, even after his third book, this moment has not lost its blessing and magic. I have been so proud and honored in these moments of triumph for him, and thankful he has chosen to use the gifts God has given him to create wonderfully imaginative stories.
As I sat in tears at the end of the movie, I wondered what that moment would feel like for me. I wondered how I would experience such a moment. Would I be like Jo March and my son, who both have understated but nonetheless powerful reactions? Or would I jump about and lose my mind while holding my own book in my hands?
In that moment, I got to thinking about how none of us can truly experience anything totally through another person. How any of us would feel or react is intensely personal. I may be able to imagine what it feels like to jump out of a plane, but unless I have experienced it myself, I will truly never know. That is just a fact. Even when a father is in the delivery room, he cannot possibly know what the mother's reality is through the birthing process; all he can do is be as supportive as he can, and experience what is happening through his own lens. This is true for faith as well. I can see how others walk in faith, but unless I have given my life to Christ, I cannot possibly understand what that means. I can experience the blessing from and the change in another, but I must take the road of yielding to Christ alone; there is no other way. As a believer, I can do my best to witness to others and love them as Jesus would want me to, but I cannot bring them to the foot of the cross. I cannot make that choice for anyone else. However, I know every believer would if we could. So starting today, I want to live my life so full of the joy of the Lord that those around me feel the way I did at the end of Little Women, moved to tears and wanting to have that same experience. I want others to desire and experience the joy, mercy, and power of Christ in their lives because they can clearly see the joy, mercy, and power that comes from a relationship with Jesus so evidently in mine.
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