I just watched this movie last night with my bride and loved it. A nice action flic with a bit of blood and with blood comes violence, and a bit of language but other than that a solid movie. Apart from that though this is why i liked it, it plays out a great story of adventure and danger for a father and a son to partake in. Now granted there was a lot more adventure back in the old west days, everyone carried a gun, there was a lot more open range and a lot less law enforcement to keep the piece. But this story goes a bit deeper than that. Now i get into some spoiler stuff so if you haven't but are going to watch it then plug your ears. The father was wounded in the war between the north and the south, a wound that led to the removal of his leg, he is a cattle rancher in the Arizona desert during a drought. His oldest son has no respect for him as he watches the landowner burn down his barn in the middle of the night, watches them go with little to eat and his younger brother struggle with TB. The only source of pride he has is that his father lost his leg in the war from a sniper. Witch as we find out later in the movie he lost from friendly fire while he was running away from the battle. The father stumbles upon a great opportunity to not only get some much needed cash for his family, but the self respect that has been drained out of him for years. The scene is played out as the father comes into the house one last time before heading out on the epic journey. A dialogue between him and his wife after she asks why he is doing this and why he doesn't just stay home.
"I am tired of being dirt poor. we have nowhere to go. I'm tired of the way the boys look at me, and I'm tired of the way you don't. I've been standing on one leg for three years waiting for God to do me a favor, and I'm tired of waiting."
Both the main characters in the movie are men by the worlds standards, a cattle rancher and a wagon robbing outlaw. But as the movie progresses we find the hard exterior is a front and they both are broken inside. One cant live up to the war hero he has made himself to be, and the other is a boy of an alcoholic father who died when he was young, and a mother who abandon him at the train station. The under story is of the boy who wants to look up to his father, who needs a hero and needs to be called out as a man. A story that every boy from the beginning of time has lived out.
It is important for men today to be the hero's their children look too, to be present in their homes and absorbed into their lives. Sure i don't have any children (yet) but i know the importance of this. I know that I wouldn't be in the place i am today if it wasn't for my father, leading and shaping my life. Letting me be a boy, be rough, wrestle and play basketball with me. To show me what it means to be a man, provide for the family, and love my wife. Was he perfect, no, but that's the great thing about it, in his imperfection i learned. As men we want to be looked up to, as a leader, adventurer, wild at times, but also the safety, and the lover. It is no wonder that the majority of gay men had no father or strong male presence in their lives. It has led them to seek that male attention in unhealthy and dangerous ways.
It is equally important for men to feel wanted and appreciated. To feel like they are fighting battles and winning the prize. They want to be respected and see their prize blush and swoon over them as they come in the room. To be desired and loved, and boasted about. To ultimately get the girl.
Recently Kendra and I have been released to start our connection (small or home) groups from our pastor. My connection group is focused around calling out the men of today out. To be men that some of them weren't released to be by there own fathers, like the outlaw in the movie, and also, not the man they have painted themselves to be, like the war hero. God placed an order in the house, the man is the head (not in a chauvinistic way) and the leader. and its time that we learned to do it the right way and honor our wives and raise our children. To stop passing it on to the women to be the leaders and the ones who try and train the boys to be men. They don't how and it only leads to problems in that boys life later down the road. I could go on for a while but i really feel this is a important piece and has been missing for way to long in our world today. If you have the interest please read Wild at Heart by John Eldredge, it reflects the importance of this natural progression. Love
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2 comments:
Wow babe, that is powerful! God has given you such a heart to see men come into their true identiy that is so needed in our culture. He has already used you in such a big way and I know its only the beginning. You are going to be an incredible father, not only to our physical children but to the spiritual sons that God is bringing to you to raise up. I love you so much and couldn't be more proud to have you as my leader, my hero and my lover.
Kendra
What it is Bro!! All that I can really say is that you saw right through me. With the power of God and your calm intensity you said those words "This is not who you are." I thank you and love you for speaking into the part of me that was under many layers of fear, sadness and shame. You are freakin awesome!!
As for 3:10 to Yuma, what a fantastic movie. I hung on every word and every scene because I felt some of the pain that the father played in the movie. The whole waiting for God to do something for me, without realizing that it was God was waiting on me to turn to him. Not only that but to be weak and humble enough to make a stand for what is right and not falling into "accepted" behavior. I can only imagine how nerve racking it would be leaving that hotel room knowing that 24 guns were coming after me, running on a bad leg, with a man that saw killing as a means to gain advancement. As Christians the world tries to tempt us by whispering (sometimes yelling) that the odds are against us, that the "good guy" always finishes last or in case of the movie doesn't finish at all, I mean the dad never made it home. Now in my new found love for Jesus and gratitude for God's grace and mercy I am learning that it is not about the start or the finish but about the journey. Its about that dash on the tombstone of our graves between our birtdate and the day God calls us home.
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