I have started and stopped the writing of this blog several times....

Without a doubt, my favorite movie of all time is The Princess Bride.  The movie has everything that you could want from a movie and so much more.  Of all of the great scenes that come from the movie, there is one that really stands out to me and is one that I have used over and over in ministering to others.  The scene find Inigo Montoya back at his home in the Thief's forest.  He has been defeated, has lost his way and returned to the only starting place that he knows - home.  In this scene, a brute squad has been formed at the request of the Prince to clear the Thief's forest prior to his upcoming wedding ceremony.  Inigo is the only one left within this little community that refuses to go.  Over and over he repeats the statement that when a job (or things) go bad, you go back to the beginning.  That is where he is and he refuses to be moved.  It's a great scene and probably one that will not be readily understood until we look at it from the perspective of our daily walk in our Christian life.

Life, as I am sure all of you know, isn't easy.  There are "things" that happen on a daily basis that prevent us from doing all that we want to do, being all that we want to be and living the way that we really want to live.  This is further complicated by the fact that we have an enemy who opposes us at every turn in an effort to lead us to a point of apostasy (see 1 Peter 5:8-9).  With all of these things going on, it seems only natural at times that we would become overwhelmed, feel defeated and lost and get confused as far as where to go, what to do and identify something, a truth or a ray of light, to cling to as we weather the storm.  When all that we know is upside down and sideways, where do we go so that like Inigo, we can go back to the beginning and start over?

So the obvious answer, especially from a Christian perspective, is the church, the Bible, God, etc., etc.  I believe that if we are truly honest with ourselves, however, that this isn't the first thing that we think about when these situations arise.  I believe that many of us look and think about returning to our "old" lives - the habits and lifestyles we had prior to accepting Christ into our lives.  And to a certain extent, that makes a little bit of sense.  It is safe, it is familiar and probably most importantly, it is a place where the works of the evil one will not further hinder our walk primarily due to the fact that it is where he wants us to be in the first place.  This concept is reinforced in The Princess Bride as we find Inigo not only back at "his" beginning, but drunk.  That is what he knows; that is where he started.  But as we continue with the scene from the movie, we find that there is more to life than what Inigo initially is capable of seeing.  His destiny, his purpose in the battle, his calling, is on a different path than he initially expected: a path in which he fulfills what he was created to do (from the perspective of the movie that is).

So my brothers and sisters in Christ, where do we go when we need to start over.  I pray that each of you are advanced enough in your walk that the church, the Bible and God is where you go.  I pray that this is the place in which you find safety, comfort and are refreshed and renewed for the battle which lies ahead.  I also pray that each of you has someone in your life that can help lead you back to this place and will walk with you and support you while you are there.  But more than anything else, I pray that each of you know this verse and can accept it fully within your heart...

"Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1-2)

Like Inigo, we may all at times revert back to "old" behaviors or patterns.  Seize this as an opportunity to truly start over and identify alternatives or those around you who can walk with you as you seek to find your place of safety in Christ Jesus when the battle becomes more that what you believe you can handle.  God's power and grace are sometimes demonstrated in our weakest moments...

May God be with each of you.

Your brother in Christ,

Jim