What I Learned From Rudy

What is God's best? And are you enjoying it?

I once heard that the goal in life should be to know God and to enjoy Him forever. I can't think of a greater goal. I would add that the goal should be to glorify Him and fulfill His purpose.

In a society of "follow your dreams" and "let your heart lead you", I wonder if we have become so blind to our true purpose that we try to fit God into our own dreams and goals, rather than fitting our dreams and goals into God's plan.

I watched the movie "Rudy" with my dad last night. I love the movie and think it's a cool story. But I have never seen it the way I saw it this time. Consider the fact that my view on this is only from the movie, and I don't know how closely the movie follows real life. Rudy is the picture of "follow your dreams" and "let your heart lead you". As a boy he dreamed of playing football for his favorite college team- Notre Dame. Rudy's dream was not unlike most young boys' dreams, whether they dream of being astronauts or football players or the President of the United States. What was different about Rudy? He did everything in his power to live his dream, and accomplished it. Sort of.

You see, Rudy wasn't that great at football. In fact, he was kind of bad at it. Not to mention the fact that he didn't have the grades to go to Notre Dame, let alone as a football player. But his life wasn't all that bad. He had a family and a job and a girl (who had every hope and intention of being his wife). But for Rudy, that was not enough. Rudy wanted to play football for Notre Dame, as he had wished from boyhood. So he quit his job, left his family and ditched his would-be bride. He spent years trying to get good enough grades to attend Notre Dame. He was homeless, broke and relatively alone. Eventually Rudy did get into Notre Dame, and to everyone's disbelief (quite literally) he made the football team. But he never got to play. Until the last game when the crowd cheered him onto the field.. for about 10 seconds. Everyone told Rudy he couldn't do it. His parents advised against it, his girlfriend begged him not to go, and everyone along the way doubted him.

So he did it! Right? Sure, if his dream was to spend years of his life studying and trying to get good enough grades just so he could be on the football team. If his dream was to leave behind his family and friends back home to pursue a nearly impossible goal. If his dream was to give up the girl he "loved" (eventually to his brother) to play 10 seconds of a football game. If his dream was to tell the world that nothing mattered more than playing Notre Dame Football.

Personally, I don't think Rudy was created to be a football player. It's cool that he followed his heart and fulfilled a childhood dream. But what did he give up along the way? Did he really receive God's best for his life?

I think we get Rudy syndrome sometimes. We don't realize how good we have it. Instead, we run off chasing after dreams that have little to do with God's purpose for us. I believe God has a plan for each person, if we will only seek it. I don't believe God hides His plans from us- in fact, He makes them clear to us if we really want to see them.

I was reminded of this verse the other day: Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands.. 1 Thess. 4:11

I've seen it many times but it really hit me this time. What is my ambition? If you know me at all, you know that I don't believe Christians should only be concerned for their own quiet lives. No, I believe Christians should be in every sphere of society- even in the most powerful positions- influencing this world for the better. But what is the ultimate goal of influencing society? To live and to help others live quiet lives, attending to our own business and working with our hands. One brother at Pleasant Valley always prays that we may lead quiet lives glorifying God. There is really something to that. Does living a quiet life mean hiding ourselves away from the world? No. I believe it means living in accordance to God's purpose. Live quietly rather than seeking fame, fortune, education and prestige for the sake of personal fulfillment.

When we seek power, prestige, education and influence for the sake of fulfilling a personal dream, that is when we lose God's best for our lives. Why do you do what you do? Why do you have the ambitions that you have? If you're good at law, please pursue a career as a lawyer for the purpose of glorifying God. If your calling is medicine, become a doctor to glorify God. If you are a mother, focus on your children in order to glorify God. If you are good at football, by all means use that realm of influence to God's glory. But if you're not good at football, do not pursue it just to follow your heart or to pursue a childhood dream.

I do not know Sarah Palin's heart. But as I was thinking on this topic I couldn't stop her from coming to mind. She is a woman that has gained prestige. She obviously has a natural gift of leadership and is using it in the political sphere. But it makes me wonder what her childhood dream was. Did Sarah want to be a mom? Governor of Alaska? President of the United States? And can she really have it all? What was and is God's plan for Sarah?

I think I'll end by saying that God gives us dreams, goals and aspirations for a reason. I do not believe it's wrong to dream of what we could be. I don't think it's wrong to pursue dreams. But I do know that God knew each of us before we were born, and He has a plan for each one.

Jer. 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord.

God did not leave us to wonder what to do with our lives. He gave us His Word, the Bible, for a reason. Yes, we will have dreams as children. But do they line up with Scripture? He gave us godly people to turn to for advice. Who are you listening to? He gave us prayer so that we could seek His will. Do we use that avenue?

Don't give up God's best for your life. Don't pursue childish hopes and dreams when they take you away from reality. Don't follow your heart when it leads you away from a life filled with knowing God, fulfilling His purpose, glorifying Him and enjoying Him forever.