| Matthew 15:20 – “But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” |
Tuesday night, I watched a made for TV movie from 1987. It has been 24 hours since and it is still on my mind. “After The Promise”. It is set during the Great Depression in California. A family of 4 boys, the father is a carpenter, and mom dies. The saga begins. Based on a true story. Mark Harmon plays the male lead. The story drives things along. Without spoiling too much, the state takes the boys away, and he spends the rest of the movie working to retrieve them.
I watched it on YouTube, and read the viewer comments. So many related to the happenings on a personal level. This movie struck a chord. I think it is noteworthy when the audience connects in this way with a film. We all have families. That is a basic theme. But this movie made me want to do something. One man confessed that he did a lot of yelling at the screen while he watched it. I did that silently, I suppose. Families should be together. SHOULD! It’s so right that this be true.
When my dad went away for years at a time to do his duty for Uncle Sam, I kept his picture on my desk at home. He wore his uniform and hat. A year in Vietnam while I attended 5th and 6th grade at Reagan Elementary in Odessa, Texas. I watched “The Wild Wild West” series each Friday night. I walked to Cabell’s to buy Corn Nuts, my snack while I soaked in another tense episode. I kept looking at my dad’s framed profile. It assured me that I wouldn’t forget what he looked like. Each time I passed I glanced.
When we take the Lord’s Supper, I go back to that. We eat the bread and drink the juice to keep from forgetting Jesus. The meal is our photo to which we keep peeking. Lest we forget our Savior. Father in heaven, thank You for reminding us of Your son, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
-Jeff Beall
