My family and I were enjoying some time together and we rented We Bought A Zoo. I have to tell you, this is not my type of movie. Not something that I would go out of my way to get, but when you have little kids you get movies that they can watch too. (Warning: Even though it is PG there is some cussing in it. So just be aware.)
The title gives away the premise of the movie and I do not want to spoil the plot because you need to get the movie and watch. But, there is a moment when the main character, Benjamin Mee, and his son, Dylan, are talking about Dylan’s crush. He has messed up and missed an opportunity to build a relationship with Lily. Benjamin’s advice was so good that I had to say something about it.
Just think about it. How long is twenty seconds? Count it off…
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That really is a lot longer than you think. And there are so many ways that we could apply this. But, the one that comes to mind is that this is plenty of time to share Jesus with someone. Something can be said that can provoke the hearer to consider someone they may never have taken seriously before.
Evangelism has never been one of my strong areas. It is something that I have to consciously work at and do. I can feel my heart rate increase, my blood pressure start to rise. I get sweaty palms and the uncontrollable urge to say something stupid. None of these things are excuse enough for me to fail in doing the single more needed thing in the life of those that do not yet know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Twenty seconds. A small window to make a very big difference because you just never know. Just some thoughts from a pretty good movie.
My family loves that movie! Have to admit my narrow view of things never would have put the idea of the 20 seconds of courage to sharing my faith. Although I guess that is even more important than speaking to my future wife.
Thanks, as always, for your openness and insight. I am blown away by the ways God uses you to make a statement in my life. Take care.
One of the things we always did growing up was looking at movies and try to find some way of learning from them. It’s something I try and practice whenever I watch any movie. I am glad that it was helpful to you!