Takers

It is no secret that I am a movie queen. I mostly enjoy chic flicks! I will take a romantic comedy any day and I am always down with a good Nichols Sparks tear jerker as well. Don't tell anybody, but Nathan is a lover of chic flicks himself. I guess in our almost 9 years of marriage I have just worn off on him (either that or he always liked them and I just gave him the perfect cover)!

While Nathan and I rarely get the chance to actually go to the movies, we do enjoy renting movies and curling up on the couch together after the boys are in bed. I guess you could call those nights our "date nights". After a stressful day it is nice to snuggle with my sweetheart and just not have to think too much!:)

Although chic flicks seem to be our genre of choice, there are times when we get the hankerin to see a good action movie. Last night since Nathan was gone to a men's conference I decided that it was the perfect night for an action flick.



So I popped in Takers. The movie was about a group of guys who were takers...robbers...thieves. But these guys were not your typical robbers. They were not portrayed as gangsters or thugs. These guys were high class men. They even had a regular practice of giving 10% of their loot to charities. To my surprise I actually found myself liking these guys and wanting them to succeed with their plan. That reminded me of how Satan works. In John 10:10 the bible describes him as a thief...one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But, I am quite certain that much like the characters in my movie, Satan doesn't come at us like some gangster or unwelcomed visitor, no this thief comes in all the right "clothes" making all that he offers look enticing and profitable. What a great reason for us to stay grounded in the word of God so that we are able to recognize the thief when he comes prowling at our doors.

One of the lines from he movie that has stayed with me even today was when one of the characters looked at his fellow thief and said, "We are takers, it is what we do for a living, we take things".

I keep playing that line in my head again and again. I can't help but to think about my own life. How much my existance is characterized by taking? Take for instance my time...how often do I take the time God has given to me and use it solely for my own desires? What about my home? There are so many times when I take this home and use it just for me and my family. I am certain that I often miss the opportunity to invite others into our home in order to offer them a cup of encouragement or a plate of comfort. And if I really want to step on my own toes there are also times when I don't use this home that the Lord blessed me with to bless my own family and to grow my children in His word. And what about my words? God has given me the gift of words and yet I find myself taking those words and using them not bless but to gripe or complain, to express frustration rather than love. The list could go on and on...we are given so much...our time, our homes, our resources, our words, our bodies, our abilities and talents...

The movie reminded me that I don't want to be just a taker. I want to be a giver. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that God blessed us with many gifts and the very definition of a gift is something you receive...something you take. However, I also believe that it doesn't just stop there. Again and again the New Testament portrays us as trees with the ability to bare fruit (John Chapter 15, Romans 7:4-5, Philippians 1:11, Colossians 1:10 etc.). Trees that bare fruit do not just take in the nutrients they are blessed with, no, they use what they are given to produce. I want to be like that tree...I want to take those blessing He has gifted me with and use them to produce the fruit of His spirit (Galatians 5:22). The coolest part about all of this is that He doesn't just expect these things from us without telling us how in the world to do it! In John 15 Jesus tells us that if we will abide (remain) in Him that we WILL bare much fruit.

So, the conclusion...if I want to be more than a taker I MUST REMAIN IN HIM!