A Reminder

Like the rest of the world, today I am shocked by the death of superstar actor and comedian, Robin Williams.  He was one of the best in the business because of his amazingly quick wit and his ability to cross over from comedy to drama and back to comedy. He could make us laugh, and two minutes later, make us cry.

When citing memorable Robin Williams movies, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Good Will Hunting are often remembered. But one movie that comes to my mind is “Awakenings,” starring Williams and Robert DeNiro.  It was about victims of an encephalitis epidemic who had been catatonic for decades. However, a new drug was invented, reviving them from their slumber temporarily. Williams played Dr. Malcolm Sayer who administered the drug, and DeNiro’s character was  Leonard Lowe, one of the patients who woke up after decades of unending sleep. I found an interesting piece of dialogue from the movie, in light of the tragedy about Williams:

Leonard Lowe: Read the newspaper. What does it say? All bad. It’s all bad. People have forgotten what life is all about. They’ve forgotten what it is to be alive. They need to be reminded. They need to be reminded of what they have, and what they can lose. What I feel is the joy of life, the gift of life, the freedom of life, the wonderment of life!

Dr. Sayer: I’m sorry, if you were right, I would agree with you.

Despite all his fame, Robin Williams had apparently lost the joy and wonderment of life and needed to be reminded about it. Last night, in an old interview talking about the death of comedian, John Belushi, Williams said if the strong Belushi could let life take him down, then it could happen to anyone.

Williams is correct. It could happen to you and me, our loved ones or our neighbor, but as Christians, we need to be reminded that we have hope.

We have hope that God will get us through the trials.

We have hope that our difficulties are just temporary.

We have hope that Jesus is who he said he was.

We have hope that through faith in Jesus we have an eternal home where our tears will be dried and our illnesses healed.

A recent sermon series at our church was entitled “Everything rides on hope.” That’s the truth. If we didn’t have hope, what would we have? This past week, two friends from my Sunday school class buried their sons. I am sure they are clinging to the hope they have in Christ as they walk through a very dark valley. It all rides on hope.

The apostle Peter, who had his share of persecution, encourages us to claim hope: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice., though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:3-7).

What trial are you going through right now? Is your hope waning? Hold on tight to the promises you receive in Christ. It’s only through the power of the Holy Spirit we can survive the difficulties of this world.

“Why my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11). (LBW)