I think if I had to come up with a list of my top ten movies, Shawshank Redemption would be right up there. OK, if you haven't seen it, spoiler alert!
Andy Dufresne is in prison for a very long time. He endures things that no man should have to endure, yet he makes a difference in the lives of the prisoners. He helps many of them get their GED and even creates a library.
At one point Andy and his friend Red are having a conversation about music.
Andy Dufresne: "That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music?"
Red: "I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in here."
Andy Dufresne: "Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget."
Red: "Forget?"
Andy Dufresne: "Forget that... there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours."
Red: "What're you talking about?"
Andy Dufresne: "Hope."
Andy confuses Red with this, both are serving a life sentence. What is the point of hope when prison is all you have, all you know?
However, what Red doesn't know is that Andy has two secrets. One is that he is innocent and the second one is that he has been slowly, over years, digging a tunnel and planning not only an escape, but a way to have a new identity and finances when he gets out. A new life awaits Andy that Red cannot see. But Andy sees it clearly.
It is that hope, that new name and new life that gives Andy the strength to make it through each day.
Let's face it, life can be hard. But if we focus only on the here and now we will lose heart.
But like Andy, we have a new identity in Christ, and a new life waits for us.
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Cor 4:16-18 (NIV)
As long as we focus only on the here and now, we will lose heart. This world is not our home, it is not where we belong.
