It
is difficult to believe that Paul Newman and Robert Redford only made 2
movies together. It seems like they were a team in the vein of Crosby
and Hope or Lewis and Martin, but 1969's Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid and 1973's The Sting
were the only movies these Hollywood legends would star in together.
The modern generation may know these gifted actors by their food line
(Newman's Own) or the movie festival and television network (Robert
Redford began both the Sundance Movie Festival as well as the Sundance
Movie Channel based off of the title character of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.
The chemistry between these two venerable actors was evident as they
went through both of these films with an obvious ease and comfort with
each other. In 2003, the movie would be selected by the National Film
Registry for preservation in the Library of Congress.
Aided by a Burt Bacharach/Hal David soundtrack, the movie quickly became a fan favorite for years. It also propelled "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", sung by BJ Thomas, to #1 for 4 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100. Critical acclaim came as well as "Raindrops" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It would be Thomas' follow up to his gold record "Hooked On A Feeling" (not the version from the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer...that's Blue Suede) and solidify him as a pop star in the 60s and 70s. He had cross over hits in Country as well as Christian music. In fact, all of the Grammys that BJ Thomas won were for his Christian music. Here is an example:
Rain is a popular subject among songwriters. For a list of some of the most popular "rain" songs in music history click this link: 30 Songs About Rain That Rock - Yahoo Voices. This list includes the Blind Melon hit "No Rain" featured in the October 16, 2012 Tuesday's Musical Notes: Tuesday's Musical Notes - "No Rain".
Many of these songs have a theme that rainy days or rain in general
emotes a "blue" mood or rainy days "always get me down". The Notes
admits that rainy days can potentially have their downsides, or maybe we
should say "downpoars", but we have always found them uniquely
enjoyable. Those of you who have lived in rural areas probably hold
fond memories of rain falling on the tin roof of a barn or shed.
Perhaps the rain meant a day off from outdoor labor and enabled you to
read a good book and take the break you needed. And the smell of the
outdoors after a spring rain is one of those odors that are simply
unexplainable. Regardless of these endearing memories, rainy days do
have a tendency to cause us to ponder or reflect on the times in our
lives when everything seemed to go against us. We all have those days.
On those days when nothing seems to go right, our focus seems to deflect
to all the negative in our lives and even the negative in our world.
It is easy to begin to ask the age old question, "why do bad things
happen to good people?" or the converse, "why do evil people succeed at
all?". As with so many questions about life, the Bible has answers.
They may not always be answers that we like, but the answers are there.
One of the most studied passages of scripture is Matthew 5. The entire chapter is familiar to us as the "Sermon on the Mount".
It contains what are commonly known as "The Beatitudes".
Dictionary.com defines this as a "supreme blessedness". The first
portion of the chapter finds Jesus pronouncing blessings on those who
would not have normally been blessed by the lawgivers and religious
rules of the day. Later on Jesus begins to teach about specifics of
discipleship and the life of one who would follow Him. He sets the
standards by which Christians should live. In the last 5 verses, Jesus
teaches about our relationships with others. He says:
Matthew 5:43-48
The Message (MSG)
43-47 “You’re
familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its
unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m
telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you,
not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the
energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves,
your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the
sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good
and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you
expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those
who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does
that.
48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
maybe you are more familiar with it this way:
Matthew 5:44
New American Standard Bible
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
In
essence Jesus is telling us to quit worrying about the good or the bad
that comes our way. We should praise Him in both. He is also telling us
that we should love everyone in spite of their sin-filled or
sin-forgiven condition. Love, not condemnation, is what He displayed
when He traveled among us, and love, not condemnation, is what His
followers should display as they travel through their lives. Holding
others accountable for sin or telling them they are not right in context
of Biblical standards is not condemnation as long as it is done in a
manner that displays our concern for their eternity. This will show our
love for them. This is an attitude we should have..."In The Early
Morning Rain", in "November Rain", or even in "Purple Rain". God causes
it to rain on the good folks as well as the bad folks. Our challenge
is to remember that...."because I'm free...nothins worryin....me...."
cue trumpet solo.....
'Til Tuesday
Serving HIM by serving you,Randy
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