Threat v.s. Fact

One of my favorite movies is the 1993 Texas based film “A Perfect World” where Butch Haynes (Kevin Costner) plays an escaped convict from a Huntsville prison who, while stealing a getaway car, ends up taking a young boy hostage and eventually being hunted down by Texas Ranger “Red” Garnett (Clint Eastwood). The whole movie ends up being about Butch’s connection with the kid who is being raised in a home without a father, is oppressed by an overly obsessed “mother hen” mom, and his journey towards “manhood” through Butch’s influence. It’s kind of a like the secular movie version of “Wild at Heart” (I know, seems weird, but stick with me). The whole story is a “let boys be boys, sometimes we gotta show them how to do that, and then give them permission” movie.

Turns out Butch hates his escape partner, Terry, who is quite a weasel… One of my favorite scenes is one where they were driving down the road and Terry mentions his ear still bleeding from something Butch did earlier, he mumbles under his breath to Butch, “If you ever try that again…”

Butch interrupts, “What? You in the middle of threatening me?”

Terry replies from the back seat, “That’s not a threat…” he holds up his gun and cocks it “… that’s a fact.”

Butch leans over the seat and says, “In two seconds I’m gonna break your nose. That’s a threat.” He then grabs the gun from Terry, smacks him straight in the face, and as blood begins streaming out of his nostrils… says, “Now… that’s a fact”.

In verses 24-25 of 1 Samuel 12 it says, “And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

This sounds like a threat. But it’s not. It’s a promise and a fact. Samuel has seen the evidence of God’s hand. He knows that our God does not offer empty threats and promises. Let’s not forget that God was using Samuel in his very own punishment as a poor father. His boys were supposed to be in charge yet because of His neglect, they would lose their influence, and as God put it NEVER be atoned for (1 Samuel 3:14).

Samuel kept his bearing because of "fact". Without it, it seems hard that he would have ever maintained any type of desire to do what God was telling him to do. After such failure in faith, most of us would reject, point the finger, be angry, and say God’s not fair. Samuel’s continuance was in the evidence. It was in the facts. Samuel knew God was God and what He said would happen, would indeed happen.

Samuel said, "It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers.” – 1 Samuel 12:6-7

He confronted them with all that God had done in the past. He confronted them with evidences of His hand and His faithfulness. He confronted them with the facts.

I’ve always thought it interesting how we go through an experience with God’s obvious hand yet fail to remember the power of His movement down the road. What’s that about? Hindsight is truly 20/20… for a season anyway. We reason away and we forget the significance. Knowing their (and our) nature, God gives them this “promise of fact”. If they remembered and served faithfully, the Lord promised to show the way. If they did not remember what He had done, like Samuel’s boys, they would surely reap what they sowed.

I dunno. Seems to me that God is so very just. The more I know Him and pursue Him, the more I see it. He spoke and it was. Literally. He promises amazing things… honestly, all our heart desires (even the ones we don’t know of). He just asks that we seek Him and His righteousness first.

We just have to remember: The journey is not about the broken nose. The journey is about Glory to Him, and us learning how to be a part of it.