Before there was The Da Vinci Code, there was Angels & Demons. This might come as a surprise to some who thought Dan Brown’s best-selling novel turned 2006’s blockbuster movie was the first to center around Robert Langdon, a fictional Harvard professor of religious symbology.

In fact, Angels & Demons was written in 2000 and preceded The Da Vinci Code by three years. But Ron Howard-who returns to direct the latest intellectual thriller-decided to tackle the two projects in reverse order, presumably because of The Da Vinci Code’s more scintillating story line. He also retained Tom Hanks’ services as Langdon for this prequel turned sequel that hit theatres this past weekend.

In the book, Langdon is called by Maximilian Kohler, the director of CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research-a real life laboratory for particle physics located in Geneva, Switzerland) after one of his scientists Leonardo Vettra is murdered and branded with the mark of a legendary secret organization known as the Illuminati.

In the movie, Camerlengo Patrick McKenna (Carlo Ventresca from the book and played by Ewan McGregor) calls Langdon to Rome after the Pope dies and the four Preferiti (the cardinals in line for the Papal crown) become targets of an unknown assassin. This backwards storytelling devise creates a clever bit of irony as the leaders of the Catholic Church (exposed as frauds in The Da Vinci Code) are forced to rely on the man who uncovered its supposed lies about the divinity of Christ (Brown writes that Jesus was a mortal man who married and had children).

To make matters worse, a canister of antimatter has been stolen from CERN and hidden inside Vatican City. The antimatter, which is highly unstable outside of its suspended vacuum, will cause a devastating explosion within 24 hours of removal.

This leads Langdon and Vettra’s daughter Vittoria (Ayelet Zurer) on a fast-paced trek through the Vatican’s historic landmarks and mysterious hidden passageways. They attempt to save the lives of the cardinals while frantically searching for the missing antimatter.

Unlike The Da Vinci Code, there haven’t been a slew of books explaining or attempting to debunk claims made by Angels & Demons. That fact alone suggests the film adaptation will be far less controversial as well. It doesn’t, however, preclude Angels & Demons from having some serious flaws that might lead people down a dangerous path of misinformation.

While The Da Vinci Code made direct assertions that challenged core biblical truths, the message found in Angels & Demons is much more subtle and involves an age-old tug-of-war that pits organized religion against science. The traditionalists on both sides argue that one community threatens the other. For instance, some of the religious leaders in the story believe that scientific breakthroughs diminish man’s need for God while the scientific purists accuse the Church of suppressing it’s findings in an effort to maintain control of any moral debate.

Brown seems open to the idea that miracles can happen but leans more in the direction of science as the creator of such happenings while intimating that religious leaders might be compelled to feign divine intervention in order to further the cause of faith.

This holds true late in the story when Camerlengo makes an amazing aerial escape after saving St. Peter’s Basilica and the people gathered there from the antimatter bomb. His misguided attempt to manufacture a miracle is portrayed as delusional and self-serving.

Of course, what would a Robert Langdon adventure be without at least one swipe at the Bible? In Angels & Demons, it’s the tenet of Creation that serves as target practice. Prior to his murder, Vettra had hoped to find a connection between science and God. This concept was borderline blasphemy to the purist scientists at CERN and was equally disconcerting to the camerlengo who feared that such a revelation would continue to lead people further away from their belief in God as the ultimate power source.

Vettra also claimed to be on the verge of recreating the so-called “Big Bang” (ironically made famous by Belgian Roman Catholic priest and professor of physics Georges Lemaitre) that many scientists believe produced matter. Christian scientists have differing opinions on the Big Bang Theory-some believing it happened when God “created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:3), and some believing it to be a myth disguised as scientific fact.

Just like he did during the firestorm surrounding The Da Vinci Code, Brown claims that Angels & Demons is not anti-Catholic or even inherently religious for that matter. He believes that science and religion are the same things: “manifestations of man’s quest to understand the divine.”

Strangely, the antagonist of Angels & Demons is ultimately correct in his assertion that scientific advancements and technological breakthroughs threaten to pull man even further away from God-not because the two are competing forces but rather because the two are inextricably joined together.

There’s an inherent conflict between logical thinking and the omnipotent power of God, whom you might say is the original scientist. How do you explain a Supreme Being that created countless galaxies with His words and gave life to all living things with His breath?

God doesn’t need to be validated by science, and as hard as some may try, science will never disprove His existence either. Likewise, those of us who believe in the sovereignty of God and the divinity of His son Jesus should not fear science (or Dan Brown’s humanistic inspired stories, for that matter). We should instead see the beauty of our Creator’s handy work in every direction we may turn.

Angels & Demons will no doubt supply another blockbuster hit for Dan Brown and his Hollywood cohorts. It might even subconsciously impact some people’s belief in God. This should come as no surprise to those who have studied 2 Timothy 3 in which the Apostle Paul prophecies that in Earth’s final days there will be people who are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.”

Chad Bonham is a freelance author, journalist and television and documentary producer from Broken Arrow, Okla. He has authored several books including a four-book FCA series (Regal Books) and is the coordinating producer on a forthcoming documentary called Choosing Life.

As I sit in the Tulsa International Airport waiting for my flight to Houston, I just realized how oxymoronic my life is when it comes to travel. I love going places, especially cities and states that I’ve never visited. That number is quickly decreasing yet I still find myself longing to go.

I love the feeling of stepping out of baggage claim and wandering out for a new adventure. I thoroughly enjoy experiencing fresh perspectives through the culture of a different part of the country and, on rare occasions, different parts of the world.

But here’s the oxymoronic part. I hate just about everything it takes to get from point A to point B. There is absolutely nothing endearing about parking my car; waiting for the shuttle driver to arrive; deliberating the etiquette of tipping said shuttle driver; waiting in line to get a boarding pass (hoping the “easy” check-in machine can read my credit card); standing in line for security; dumping all of my belongings (shoes included) on to a conveyer belt; walking through a screening machine (praying it doesn’t beep); hustling to the terminal only to find that the flight has been delayed; waiting for said flight to finally arrive; standing in line to get on the plane; wading through the congested aisle while looking for that last empty overhead bin; squeezing into a seat that seems to shrink with each trip; praying I don’t get stuck sitting next to that one person who has never flown before and has major anxiety attacks throughout the entire trip; wading through the congested aisle while de-boarding the plane; hustling to the connecting flight that is boarding precariously close to the previous flight and going through the whole routine again until finally arriving at that glorious destination that was surely worth the trouble.

Then there’s something I like to call “flight risk” (pun intended). No matter how hard I try to forget about it; there is always the chance that something could go wrong. Whether it be a terrorist attack or an untimely encounter with a flock of birds taking to the so-called “friendly skies”, it isn’t always danger-free. And of course, there’s always those inevitable pockets of stomach-turning turbulence.

My forays into air travel kind of remind me of my relationship with Christ. I love the benefits of my salvation. I deeply appreciate the hope that I have thanks to the great sacrifice He made on the cross. I gladly accept the blessings and promises of God’s Word. I wait longingly for Jesus’ return when I will take that last flight to an eternity in heaven.

But just like I deplore the hassles of flying, I often find myself frustrated with, and sometimes even resistant to, the process that I must go through as a follower of Christ. Finding time to pray and read the Bible is a daily challenge. Disciplining myself to fast and deny myself life’s simple pleasures for the sake of His call is a near impossibility. Focusing on relationships in a meaningful, Christ-like manner is a constant struggle. And being patient in waiting for dreams to be fulfilled and prayers to be answered is a painstaking process that drives me to the edge of insanity.

The walk of faith is also full of significant risk. My good friend Kenny Luck wrote about this in a book aptly titled Risk. Check it out sometime if you find yourself, like me, struggling with the inherent dangers of the Christian faith.

You see, our spiritual journey is full of trials and tribulations. The Bible often compares it to the process that fine metals like gold and silver go through in order to be purified. Sometimes we deal with persecution from those who don’t share our beliefs. For some in other parts of the world persecution is serious business and can result in physical harm, imprisonment or even death. These are all things that we must deal with in order to become the people God called us to be. The risk we take dots a path that leads to great reward both here on earth and in heaven.

Towards the end of his life, Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith (HCSB).”

Paul had a very difficult road and described his journey as a fight, albeit a “good fight.” Paul also wrote in Romans 12:12 that we should, “Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.”

He knew that there was something much greater waiting for him beyond this world. He understood that his devotion to the faith would produce a great reward-the “riches of the glory” he referred to in Colossians 1:27 (NASB). Paul also reminds us in 1 Corinthians 2:9 that, “no eye has seen and no ear has heard and what has never come into a man’s heart, is what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

I started this blog sitting in the Tulsa airport. I finished sitting in a room overlooking a beautiful stretch of Pensacola Beach. The trip was definitely worth the trouble. And I’m strangely affirmed by the promise that eternity with our Lord is worth any “flight risk” we as Christians will ever be asked to take.

Chad Bonham is a freelance author; journalist and television and documentary producer from Broken Arrow; Okla. He has authored several books including a four-book FCA series (Regal Books) and is the coordinating producer on a forthcoming documentary called Choosing Life.

Marie Green was an amazing woman. As the wife of a church-planting pastor and the mother of six ministry-minded children, her legacy continues to have a far-reaching impact.

In case you haven’t heard about Marie Green (and I’m assuming that’s probably the case), let me tell you a little bit about her.

Marie was a prayer warrior. She spent countless hours on her knees praying for people in her community, in her nation and in her world. Marie had an incredible passion for missions. Although she never left the country, she was indirectly responsible for evangelizing millions of people in places like China, the Ukraine and throughout Africa, South America and here in the United States.

Of Marie’s six children (all named after men and women from the Bible), five went on to become pastors or the spouses of pastors. To this day, her son James has a church in Douglasville, Ga., and her daughter Lois is a pastor’s wife in Oklahoma. Marie’s son Joe is a former pastor and his two sons Jeff and Randy are big-hearted businessmen who have contributed greatly to ministry causes across the globe. Her daughter Esther is a former pastor’s wife.

Perhaps Marie’s most notable legacy is tied to her second youngest son David who is one of the wealthiest men in America. He is the only Green sibling not tied directly to traditional church ministry, but his hugely successful business (he started the national Hobby Lobby chain out of his garage and built it into a multi-billion dollar company) has allowed him to give millions of dollars to various ministries and efforts all over the world. David’s primary goal is to put appropriately-translated Bibles into as many people’s hands as possible-including every single Chinese man, woman and child.

David’s son Steve and daughter Darsee are intricately involved at Hobby Lobby while his other son Mart is the founder of a Christian bookstore chain. More recently, Mart has created multiple media companies including Every Tribe Entertainment and Ethnographic Media. He is responsible for the production of the film End of the Spear and the documentaries Beyond the Gates of Splendor and Miss HIV.

Over the past 18 months, Mart has been in the news for another reason. On behalf of the Green family, he donated $70 million to the debt-riddled Oral Roberts University (ORU) and was named chairman of the board. Since that gift, ORU has found the solid footing it has sought for several years and is healthier than its ever been.

So on Saturday, May 2 at ORU’s graduation ceremony, Marie Green will receive a lifetime achievement award from the university. Everywhere David and Mart speak, they inevitably mention their mother and grandmother, giving her credit as their personal inspirations to become generous givers and world-impacting men.

But the reason for my adoration is a little more personal. That’s because Marie Green is my grandmother-the mother of my mom Betty Bonham. I didn’t get much time with my grandmother. She passed away when I was only four years old. Yet somehow, I remember visiting her and my Grandpa Green in Midland, Texas, not long before her death. She was 72 years old at the time.

My mom was greatly influenced by my grandmother. By the age of 18, she was traveling the country with her sisters. They would sing and preach and lead people to Christ in powerful revival services. My mom later became a pastor for a few years at various churches in central Oklahoma and continued to evangelize after that. My grandmother’s legacy continued with my oldest sister Rhonda Dilldine who is the worship leader at Hope Church in Broken Arrow, Okla. My other sister Karla Partridge has been the children’s pastor at Hope for over 20 years. Both have been rock solid pillars of leadership and amazing examples to everyone in our church.

I like to think I’ve turned out pretty good myself. And I owe it all to the legacy of my grandparents-grandparents Bonham and Green-and both of my parents-Stan and Betty. I have two sons of my own now-Lance Andrew and Cole Avery-and by God’s grace I intend to see that legacy continue through them.

You see there was no way to tell back then what great things Marie Green’s children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and now even one great-great grandchild (and another one the way) would go on to achieve. It’s clear now that her legacy of constant prayer, sacrificial giving and unconditional love has been felt by more than even she could have ever imagined.

My grandmother’s faithfulness was greatly blessed. She has an amazing Christian lineage in which every single one of her offspring have gone on to become followers of Jesus and servants of God. It reminds me of these Old Testament words:

“God, You have heard my vows; You have given a heritage to those who fear Your name” (Psalm 61:5, HCSB).

Although that verse was penned by King David, it could have been written by my grandmother who left a heritage that continues today and has spanned the globe reaching countless souls with the Gospel.

Perhaps William James said it best: “The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”

That’s really the message here. No matter where you are at in life or what you think you may or may not have to offer, it’s never too late to start a legacy of faithful service to God.

Will your legacy look like Marie Green’s? Probably not. But as long as your life is blanketed in prayer, service, love and a passionate pursuit of God, you and those you touch will be blessed for generations to come.

Chad Bonham is a freelance author, journalist and television and documentary producer from Broken Arrow, Okla. He has authored several books including a four-book FCA series (Regal Books) and is the coordinating producer on a forthcoming documentary called Choosing Life.

There are sports. And then there’s NASCAR.

I really didn’t understand that concept until I went to my first NASCAR event back in 2005. I watched stock car racing from time to time and got more interested when I found out my wife (heavily influenced by her dad) was a big fan.

But it took hanging out in the garage area throughout the practice rounds and during qualifying for me to really get it. Hearing 43 finely-tuned speed machines roaring in perfect harmony was a kind of music I’d never heard before.

And I liked it.

Millions of Americans apparently agree. NASCAR is, by many accounts, as popular as the NFL and its fans maintain fierce loyalties to favorite drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards.

I have a few favorites myself. Towards the top of that list is veteran wheelman Mark Martin who mans the #5 car for Hendrick Motor Sports. For over 20 years now, Martin has earned the respect of everyone in NASCAR. He has 48 victories in the Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series and claimed his 36th career Sprint (formerly Winston and Nextel) Cup Series victory in Phoenix this past weekend.

The win broke a four-year Victory Lane drought and the rest of the field was about as happy for Martin as they could be without actually winning the race themselves. That’s because Martin’s name commands respect and high praise.

“We don’t have enough time to talk about everything I learned from Mark,” former teammate Matt Kenseth, driver of the #17 car, told me last October at Texas Motor Speedway. “I don’t think there’s much bad about Mark.”

Back in 2007, David Ragan, another solid Christian NASCAR driver, took Martin’s place in the #6 car. His experience with Martin goes back to 2002 which enabled him to echo Kenseth’s sentiment.

“Character and good work ethic are very important in this garage,” he said. “That’s why he’s been here as long as anyone has and that’s why he can write his story for whatever he wants to do for the rest of his life. Good things happen to good people and Mark is certainly a good guy.”

Sure, it might not be a surprise to hear such affirming talk from within the NASCAR community which has long been perceived as a boys club of sorts. But there’s definitely something different about Martin.

He has a quiet faith in Christ that has helped him build a reputation as one of the most even-tempered drivers on the circuit. The ability to hold back angry words and resist retaliation is something Kenseth has watched from his driver’s seat and likewise tries to implement.

“Mark is one of the guys that I respect because he’s not one of the guys who stands up in front of everybody and shouts it,” Kenseth says. “He lives it. It’s easy to say it. It’s hard to live it. He’s a great example to follow. I’ve seen a lot of people that say one thing and then live another way. But you can just watch the way he lives and watch the way he acts and watch how much he’s respected and you know it right there. That’s what I like about him the most.”

Martin is a big supporter of Motor Racing Outreach-an organization that specializes in ministry to NASCAR drivers, crew members and support staff. I had the privilege of sitting in on a Sunday chapel service in Texas just a few days after interviewing Martin and couldn’t help but notice him sitting on the next to the last row in a corner seat.

He barely moved the whole time but his eyes were intently trained on my good friend Tim Griffin who is the Sprint Cup Series’ lead chaplain. Griffin has come to appreciate Martin’s faithful attentiveness.

“In chapel, when he sits in his chair, he’s not the biggest guy in the bunch,” Griffin explained a few days later. “He’s a small built kind of guy and he’s in incredible shape for his age. But no matter where he’s sitting, he’ll find his angle to look around the head of the person in front of him and man, he has that steely stare that lets me know, ‘I’m listening to every word you’re saying and I’m checking you out.’ I value that because he’s not a guy who is going to take everything you say hook, line and sinker. He is going to listen to every word. You can tell he’s processing it through the mind of a disciplined professional. I like that.”

I jokingly asked the low-key driver if he’d ever find himself trading places with Griffin.

“I would rather not,” he laughs. “I just don’t feel like I have enough authority to do so. I don’t think that I’m the smartest guy around, so I’m better off to keep my mouth shut as much as I can rather than opening my mouth and proving to people that I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m more of a leader by example than I am a preacher. Preaching is a calling and mine is to lead by example.”

And for guys like Kenseth, Ragan and everyone else on the circuit, Martin continues to drop nuggets of wisdom through his actions and sometimes, even, through his carefully scripted words.

“Your character is slowly built and quickly eroded,” he said. “You’re definitely influenced by whatever you’re immersed in and whatever you’re around and what you’re a part of. I’m far from perfect but I have managed to earn a good deal of respect by trying to implement the kinds of things I’ve learned about. I try. I’m not always successful. But I try to treat the people the way I want to be treated.”

Chad Bonham is a freelance author, journalist and television and documentary producer from Broken Arrow, Okla. He has authored several books including a four-book FCA series (Regal Books) and is the coordinating producer on a forthcoming documentary called Choosing Life.

If you ever run into Lance Berkman, do me a favor. Don’t tell him I named my first son after him. As someone I’ve interviewed three times before and will likely interview again in the near future, it’s probably best he doesn’t think I’m less like a journalist and more like a crazed, stalker-fan.

The truth is that I really didn’t name my son after Lance Berkman. Sure, he’s my favorite player. Sure, he plays on my favorite team (the Houston Astros). Sure, Lance Berkman sounds an awful lot like Lance Bonham, but I promise you, it wasn’t altogether intentional.

Of course, if that were the case, I could argue that Lance Berkman is an excellent choice as a namesake. Forget the fact that he’s a five-time All-Star and one of the best players in the game. I’m more interested in Berkman’s personal integrity and spiritual aptitude. That’s the stuff role models are really made of.

My third interview with Berkman took place earlier this month for a pair of Fellowship of Christian (FCA) projects. And while many “jocks” are considered all brawn and no brains, Berkman does a lot to dispel that myth-especially when it comes to Bible theology.

In fact, Berkman plans to finish up his degree at Moody Institute during down time on the road this season. It’s something he finds easy to do thanks to a growing desire to understand God’s Word.

“The thing about the Bible that’s amazing to me and still brings me a sense of awe is how well the principles work when applied to your daily walk,” Berkman told me. “People say faith is blind but when you put your faith into practice, you start to understand that it’s not. God doesn’t expect you to abandon reason. There’s so much good, practical advice for living. It’s not just for the after-life, but it’s for how you can live properly now. You can benefit greatly from the principles the Bible espouses. Every time I read it, it just blows me away how accurate and how well the Bible handles the human experience.”

That’s some pretty steep wisdom for a guy who’s best known in the baseball world for his ability to blast homeruns from both sides of the plate.

Berkman went on to tell me that his favorite Bible verse is John 15:5 which says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (NIV).

“It’s my favorite because a lot of people who will say, ‘Well, I’m a good person,'” Berkman said. “There’s a theology out there that says if the good you do outweighs the bad that you do, that means you’re a good person therefore you’re in good standing with God. That verse really hits home for me because anything we do that’s good apart from the power and the name of Jesus Christ, not that it doesn’t count, but from a spiritual standpoint, it’s not edifying. It’s not worth much. The only way that we can truly have a purpose and an enriching life experience is to do all things in Christ and through the power of Christ. What happens when we’re all about doing good works and we’re doing that outside of the power of Christ is that we end up getting the glory and the whole point of this deal is that God gets the glory. That verse beautifully illustrates that point.”

Ironically, John 15:5 is my favorite verse too. Just kidding. But again, who does this guy think he is? Billy Graham?

In the clubhouse, that actually might be a pretty fair comparison. His fun-loving, gentle nature has allowed him some serious influence amongst teammates. He is a bold advocate for the Baseball Chapel ministry and regularly speaks at Christian family day events before thousands and as the Chapel’s player representative before a handful of his peers.

“The key to dealing with people in general is that they have to know that you care about them,” Berkman said. “You have to deal with people in gentleness. You have to come along side of them. You can’t push them. You can’t pull them. You have to walk with them. In order to do that, you’ve got to demonstrate care for that individual. That’s my whole thing. I want my teammates to know that I care about them personally. I care about what happens with them on and off the field. When you are in that position, you earn the right to speak into their lives. I try to let guys know that I do care about them and consequently I think they’ll listen to me when I have something to say.”

And on the field, Berkman is a fierce competitor. He wants to win and he’s not ashamed to say so. In fact, Berkman believes that his Christian faith implores him to strive for the best.

“If I’m out there, I’m out there to win,” he said “Christians have done a disservice to the faith by backing off from that. People respect determination. They respect desire. They respect people that want to be good and be excellent in all areas of their life. If you’re claiming to be a Christian and yet you’re not working as hard as you could or you’re not giving a full effort or you’re not competing to win or competing at a high level, people aren’t going to take you seriously in other areas. I’ve always thought Christians should work harder than anybody else.”

Yes, I’ll admit it. I’m a big fan of Lance Berkman. Yes, that probably had a little something to do with why my son’s name is also Lance. I suppose my story could have been a little more comical. After all, I could have named him after my original favorite player (now a coach with Berkman’s Astros).

His name? Jose Cruz.

Chad Bonham is a freelance author, journalist and television and documentary producer from Broken Arrow, Okla. He has authored several books including a four-book FCA series (Regal Books) and is the coordinating producer on a forthcoming documentary called Choosing Life.

The concept of justice has always intrigued me. Even more interesting is the way that justice is dispensed throughout the world.

England and Wales practice English law. This system is based on common law that, as defined by Wikipedia, “is determined by judges sitting in courts applying common sense and knowledge of legal precedent to the facts before them.”

In Mexico, criminal defendants are considered guilty until proven innocent. Fortunately for the accused, there is no death penalty in Mexico, or most Latin American countries for that matter.

Then there’s the unforgiving and brutal approach to justice commonly known as sharia law (or Islamic law). Practiced in varying degrees in places like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia and Nigeria, offenses such as petty theft can result in amputation of hands and feet while more “egregious” crime such as adultery and highway robbery can end in execution.

When you compare those institutions against the one we have access to here in the United States, I think it’s pretty safe to say ours is the best in the world. Every individual, no matter what the offense, is entitled to representation and has the opportunity to have his or her case heard by a peer-based jury with oversight from an impartial judge.

If you happened to read my previous blog titled “Juror No. 3”, you might recall that I was called to jury duty last month for the second time in 10 years. The defendant was convicted on two accounts that stemmed from a firearm incident. The combined sentence was 50 years.

One of the most interesting things that happened during the process occurred moments after the final verdict and sentence was read. As the defendant was being placed in handcuffs, he became noticeably agitated. He started talking to the security guard and his attorney. Then, another juror noticed, he started pointing at one of the jurors. As he was escorted out, the defense attorney asked to speak with the judge and the state prosecutors. They then asked the youngest juror (still in his teens) to step into the judge’s chambers.

We didn’t find out for sure until later, but our speculation of what had happened turned out to be true. The defendant had thrown a proverbial “Hail Mary” pass by claiming that he knew one of the jurors. The juror denied knowing the defendant and the trial was effectively over.

It wasn’t until hearing Pastor Joe Cook (my pastor at Hope Church here in Broken Arrow, Okla.) preach two Sundays back about the final words of Christ that I realized the amazing similarity between what the defendant in our case tried to do and something that happened on the cross.

Most people familiar with the Easter story will remember the two thieves who were hanging on crosses to the left and right of Jesus (as described in Luke 23:32-43). After one of the men hurled insults at the Son of God (v. 39), the other gave a passionate defense on His behalf (v. 40).

He then turned to the Christ and uttered these oft-quoted words: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” (v. 42, HCSB)

It’s hard to say what was the thief’s motivation. Some argue he had seen the light and was sincere in his cry for help, but let’s be real here. Just like the defendant that I helped put in prison, this man was probably making a last gasp effort to be rescued from his death sentence.

So here’s Jesus; His mangled, mutilated body nailed to a cross. He’s suffering from excruciating, unfathomable pain and just a few short hours from taking His last breath.

And suddenly, an argument breaks out between two common criminals about the identity of Jesus. It seems almost fitting that even unto His death, the people around Him were debating His claims.

If Jesus were an average man, it’s likely He would have brushed off the thief’s request or worse, cursed at him for disturbing whatever peace was left to be found. If Jesus were a legalistic man, it’s likely He would have told the thief, “Sorry man, it’s too late. You should have believed in Me when you had the chance.”

But instead, Jesus, in His glorious grace, spoke these words: “I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.” (v. 43, HCSB)

As much as I appreciate the American judicial system, it pails in comparison to the perfect kind of justice that comes from a holy and righteous God. It doesn’t matter if you find Christ as a child or if you accept His salvation on death row or on your death bed. The result is still the same: eternal life.

Jesus’ response shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has ever read Matthew 20:1-16. In one of His parables, He tells about a landowner who hired men to work in his vineyard at various times throughout the day. At the end of the day, he paid all of the men equal wages no matter how many hours they worked.

Jesus summed up the story by saying, “So the last will be first, and the first last.” (v. 16)

In the parable, the men who worked a full day were enraged when the men who only worked two or three hours received the same payment. Unfortunately, many long-time Christians can fall into the same trap if their not careful. That’s because we tend to look at justice from the world’s perspective. We don’t look at it from God’s perspective who has one agenda in mind: To be reunited with all of mankind no matter what the cost.

Why do you think He sent His only Son to Earth as a perfect sacrifice for our sins? He was so desperate to restore fellowship with us, that He allowed Jesus to lower Himself to Earth and become a common man. And then, He made Jesus that focal point of a plan that would cause Him to suffer immensely and ultimately lose His life-even if for three days.

I’ll take that form of justice any day of the week. Quite frankly, if all of my sins and shortcoming were used as evidence against me in a trial that was being measured by God’s law, I’d be in a lot of trouble. And if I had to rely on a jury of my own peers to decide my innocence or guilt, well, let’s just say that as judgmental as people are these days, that probably wouldn’t work out too well either.

So as you prepare for Easter weekend, be reminded of God’s awesome grace and be thankful that, when it comes to biblical justice, we don’t have to get what we deserve.

Chad Bonham is a freelance author, journalist and television and documentary producer from Broken Arrow, Okla. He has authored several books including a four-book FCA series (Regal Books) and is the coordinating producer on a forthcoming documentary called Choosing Life.

I sent a man to prison last month. And it wasn’t the first time.

Before I get accused of melodramatic hyperbole here, let me explain.

A couple weeks ago, I was scheduled for jury duty in Tulsa County. This marked the second appearance serving our judicial system in almost exactly 10 years. My previous experience was very traumatic. At the time I was the youngest person on a jury that sentenced a man to prison for about 25 years on two counts of sexual molestation. Without getting into the gory details, the two victims were his children.

We spent several hours in the deliberation room before all 12 of us could produce a guilty charge. I was the next to last person to change my vote. When I got home that night, I broke down the moment my mom opened the door. The trial shook me in ways I’d never felt before.

So when I got the summons in the mail a few months ago, my mind immediately took me back to the spring of 1999 and all of those emotions lurked in my subconscious, waiting to make their presence felt again.

It was with great trepidation that I went back to the courthouse on that first Monday morning. Part of me wanted to get on a trial so I could get it over with while another part of me hoped to avoid sitting with a jury as to avoid a repeat of that hideous case from a decade ago.

The suspense ended pretty quickly. My name was called and I joined the second group of the first day. It was a criminal case involving a charge I’d rarely heard before-feloniously pointing a firearm.

After a laborious jury selection, I was picked to sit in the third juror’s seat. I wasn’t officially referred to as “Juror No. 3.” I just thought that sounded like something cool you might hear in a movie or on a TV show.

Of course, we were constantly reminded that fictional depictions do NOT reflect the real courtroom experience. In particular, there were multiple references to “CSI” which has become the justice system’s pariah over the past several years due to the public’s heightened expectations of what kind of evidence should be produced in any given criminal case.

Our case involved a man who got into a altercation on the streets one late summer night that resulted in him pointing a weapon at the back of a woman’s head in the presence of her 15-year old daughter.

I don’t want to bore you with the details here-although there was quite a bit of intrigue that unfolded over the 20 hours we spent on the case. I will tell you that the deliberation was much different than 10 years ago. This time, the initial vote was 9-3 in favor of a guilty charge and it only took about another 30 minutes for a unanimous decision.

After we read the verdict, we were then blindsided by the news that there was a second count against the defendant. Because he had three prior felonies (information that was inadmissible during the initial trial), there was a second felony charge of firearm possession. We had to sit through another trial-albeit much shorter-and then deliberate and go through the sentencing process.

But before the second trial was completed, the defense threw a curveball and put the defendant (presumably by his choice) on the witness stand. The man who had sat silent for two days now wanted to give his side of the story. It was a convoluted tale that was in complete contrast to the testimonies of the two victims and the police officer who came to the scene. One of the most interesting things he said, however, was how he would never have a gun because of his children. That was first indication we had been given that the defendant was a father. More on that in a moment.

When we went back to the deliberation room, it was a no-brainer. We had already convicted the man on the first charge so we logically had to do the same on the second charge. The more difficult task was deciding how many years we would sentence him in prison. The choices were 20 to life on the first count and three to life on the second count. After almost an hour of discussion, we decided on a total of 50 years in prison.

When I got home that night around 11:30 p.m., I wasn’t nearly as exhausted as I was 10 years earlier. The experience hadn’t taken the same arduous toll on my psyche or on my spirit. That changed somewhat when my five and a half year old son Lance burst out of his room to greet me. He had been waiting for me to get home and was excited to tell me about his day.

At that very moment, I was instantly reminded of the defendant’s words just a couple hours earlier and the revelation that he too had children. And it broke my heart. Not that he was unjustly treated. No, I truly believe that he committed the crime and needed to be punished as a way to hopefully set him straight someday and as a means to make the streets a safer place.

But just the thought that this man who had been in and out of jail since his teens and was living an alcohol-induced life of misery was a father made me think about the thousands of men just like him and the thousands of children who live in such horrid situations or live without the security of a responsible, caring father. It was a staggering thought-like an episode of “Law & Order” come tragically to life.

It’s strange how you have to see the extreme result of unbridled sin up close and personal in order to understand just how destructive a life devoid of God’s influence can be. We all deal with sin on a daily basis. We are all tempted to do things that go against His Word-things that can creep up on us and ever-so-slowly separate us from our heavenly Father.

It makes me wonder how a person gets to the point where committing felonies is second nature. I know that there have been times when it was way too easy to give into the sins of envy, unforgiveness, bitterness, jealousy, lust and pride. But I always knew when I was tempting God’s grace and was able to turn away from those temptations and get back on the right path. I can never imagine harming another person or facing the consequences of breaking the law.

Yet the Bible tells us that we should never be surprised to see the courtrooms filled with hardened people who have allowed the difficulties of life to turn them into criminals. Romans 1:18-32 prophetically reads like a police blotter or an episode of the Hollywood gossip show “TMZ.”

Despite the fact that “God has made (the truth) plain to (mankind)” (1:19), so many people “neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts became darkened” (v. 21).

The passage goes on to talk about what happens when man denies God’s sovereignty. “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (v. 29-31).

And the scary thing is to think that all of us-no matter how great our upbringing was or good we think we might be-are capable of falling into varying degrees of that dangerous lifestyle if we ever find ourselves separated from God due to our unrepentant sin.

There’s so much more I’d like to share, but this blog has run its course. So next time, I’ll talk again about my jury duty experience and how God’s grace and the biblical concept of justice are vastly different from man’s legal system.

Chad Bonham is a freelance author, journalist and television and documentary producer from Broken Arrow, Okla. He has authored several books including a four-book FCA series (Regal Books) and is the coordinating producer on a forthcoming documentary called Choosing Life.

In the superficial worlds of Manhattan and Hollywood, image is everything and fashion sense (or the lack thereof) dictates success and failure. So ironically, it’s the Hollywood-produced television show “Ugly Betty”-set within the confines of Manhattan’s cutthroat publishing world-that has strangely (and somewhat effectively) tackled the concept of true beauty.

In ABC’s hit show (based on the Columbian telenovela “Yo Soy Betty La Fea”), we meet Betty Suarez, a recent college graduate from Queens College (and resident of Queens, NY) who is passionate about the publishing industry. However, several magazines (including those owned by Meade Publications) turn her down-implicitly due to her less than fashionable appearance. Betty (America Ferrera) has an outdated, frumpy style (if you want to call it that) complete with frizzy hair and overstated bangs, bushy eyebrows, outdated glasses and hard-to-miss braces.

But then a stroke of good fortune finds Betty making a huge leap from unemployed ex-intern to Mode Magazine editor-in-chief’s assistant Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius) and son of publishing mogul Bradford Meade (Alan Dale).

Turns out that the elder Meade hired Betty to keep his philandering son from temptation. She takes the revelation that it is in fact her unattractiveness that landed the big break in stride just as she does the constant teasing and ridicule from her self-absorbed co-workers.

“You are an attractive, intelligent, confident businesswoman.”

Those are the words of Betty Suarez just before entering her first meeting as an employee of fictional fashion magazine Mode. Because she was filling out paperwork, she’s running late and haphazardly walks right into the glass door-an unfortunate mishap that gives the others a good laugh.

Things go from bad to worse when a fashion photographer convinces Daniel he should make life tough on Betty so she’ll quit (since he can’t fire her). He says he loves coleslaw but hates cabbage and asks her to bring him coleslaw without the main ingredient. He makes her pick the gum off his shoes. He makes her serve as a lookout for multiple gorgeous women who take turns gracing his posh condo which in turn causes her to miss her father’s birthday party. Daniel nearly gets his wish when he asks Betty to stand in for a model while wearing a ridiculous outfit.

But ultimately, Betty saves the day by presenting an ad campaign concept that keeps an important client from taking her business elsewhere. This becomes a running theme from one episode to the next and the show’s central figure endears herself to the boss and eventually many of the company’s employees.

The concept of true beauty-outward versus inward-is quickly established as the overarching message found in “Ugly Betty.” Not only does this play out at the workplace, but the idea also finds its way into Betty’s home life where she lives in a modest Queens home with her always optimistic father Ignacio (Tony Plana), her older (and much more attractive) sister Hilda (Ana Ortiz) and her nephew Justin (Mark Indelicato).

Betty’s relationship with her sister Hilda is especially intriguing. The much more attractive Hilda sells a health product called Herbalux and dresses semi-provocatively. She later opens her own hair salon and has no problem with assertiveness. Betty, on the other hand, is awkward, backward and plain. Despite that fact, it is revealed early on in the series that Ignacio has a special fondness for his younger daughter even though he does his best to hide it.

In many ways, their story is similar to the Old Testament patriarch Laban and his daughters Leah and Rachel (see Genesis 29). The two competed for the affection of their father and eventually for the affection of the same man, Jacob, to who both were married (largely in part to Laban’s deception and favoritism towards Leah). To make matters worse, Leah’s name means “cow” in Hebrew while Rachel’s name means “ewe” or sheep (arguably the most beloved Bible creature).

But strangely, it was Leah who was ultimately more successful than Rachel. She was able to bear children while her sibling was not. This caused Jacob to love Leah more than Rachel despite the difference in physical attractiveness.

With the exception of birth order, Betty is much like Leah, the less attractive sister while Hilda could be compared to the more desirable Rachel. Yet Betty somehow found her way into the highly competitive world of fashion media and became an influential (though at times, still disregarded) player.

The concept of parental favoritism also pops up within the wealthy Meade family where Bradford Meade constantly compares his son Daniel to presumed dead brother Alex. Later in the series, we learn that Alex actually faked his death in order to undergo a sex change and become Alexis (Rebecca Romijn). Strangely, while Betty tries to prove herself to the hipsters at Mode, she finds solace in Daniel who is trying to prove himself to his doubting father.

The Leah-Rachel analogy also carries over to Betty’s workplace where various characters such as Mode receptionist Amanda Tanen (Becki Newton) and season three’s introduction of former high school nemesis Kimmie Keega (Lindsay Lohan) are far more attractive but in the end fall short of Betty’s accomplishments due to their vindictive, scheming ways.

As it turns out, Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:27 ring true quite often in “Ugly Betty:”

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” He tells His critics. “You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.”

In the third season’s sixth episode, the power-hungry fashion diva Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) gives rare kudos to Betty whose idea lands a coveted supermodel for the cover. “That’s initiative people,” she tells the jealous editorial staff. “Sometimes it comes in unlikely brown packages.”

Slater’s backhanded compliment strangely lines up with what God reminded Samuel as he began his search for the next King of Israel. In 1 Samuel 16:7, He said, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Of course, that search resulted in the unlikely coronation of a shepherd boy named David and proved that, like the lead character in “Ugly Betty,” greatness can’t always be judged by outward appearance and in fact is always a product of the condition and quality of one’s inward character and heart.

And for the rest of us average, non-descript dreamers of the world, that should be great news.

Chad Bonham is a freelance author, journalist and television and documentary producer from Broken Arrow, Okla. He is the author of a four-book FCA series (Regal Books) and is the coordinating producer on a forthcoming documentary called Choosing Life.

Every once in a great while, an athletic performance transcends sports and instantly becomes folklore.

Tiger Woods’ fought through a knee injury to capture the 2008 U.S. Open. Last November, New England quarterback Matt Cassel-the previously unheralded backup to Tom Brady-passed for over 400 yards in two consecutive games.

A couple months earlier on September 1st, Stephen Drew of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Adrian Beltre of the Seattle Mariners became the first Major League Baseball players since 1920 to hit for the cycle on the same day. That means they hit a single, a double, a triple and a home run in one game.

This past Wednesday, Texas Tech basketball player Mike Singletary scored 43 points (including 29 straight) to lead the Red Raiders in an upset over Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament. Did I mention the guy comes off the bench and only averaged 11.1 points per game during the rest of the season?

Those are just a few recent examples of singular greatness.

And then last week-Tuesday, March 10, to be exact-Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade had one of those rare moments. In a game against the Chicago Bulls, Wade hit a desperate three-point shot to end the first half. He followed that up by scoring a game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation.

Then, with just three seconds remaining in the second overtime, he stole the ball from John Salmons and lofted a running three-point shot into the basket to give the Heat a 130-127 victory.

Wade’s post-game celebration was reminiscent of when the Heat won the 2006 NBA Championship. He jumped up on the sideline media table and whipped the fans into a frenzy.

A few moments later, he gave a live interview with Sun Sports reporter Jason Jackson with this response: “Aw man, God is good, man.”

After a few more remarks, Wade then repeated his opening sentiment, “Like I said, God is good.”

Wade’s performance-he finished with 48 points and 12 assists-was the top sports story of the night. The highlights dotted ESPN, FOX Sports and many local news casts across the country. It re-established the fact that Miami’s American Airlines Arena is still Wade’s house. SportsCenter even played his aforementioned God comments and rhetorically quipped back, “You’re pretty good too.”

As a freelance journalist and occasional author, I do a lot of work with professional athletes. So anytime I see someone make a public faith statement of any kind, my first reaction is always positive. The fact that God is getting glory in the midst of a lot of “man praise” (did I just make up a new word?) is always a good thing.

Of course, the more I think about it, the more likely it is that my naturally-occurring cynicism will rear its ugly head. You see, Wade is an athlete that I’ve been keeping my eyes on for a while now. I had been assigned a feature story on the All-Star about three and a half years ago and was fortunate to get his response to some questions, albeit via e-mail.

The story never ran, however, as the magazine’s editorial staff was advised by people close to Wade that they should wait until some situations in his life played out. Turns out, Wade was about to go through a nasty divorce. In fact, his legal issues have now been ongoing for over a year including a countersuit he filed against his ex-wife for defamation of character.

There’s no need to break out the gory details here, but suffice it to say most onlookers probably believed the worst of Wade considering the reputation that so many professional athletes (especially within the NBA) have collectively (and sadly in many cases, deservedly) earned.

But there’s something else about this guy that is strikingly different. It’s partly in the way he carries himself on the court. For the most part, he avoids the typical bravado and despite his superstar status, he’s a great teammate.

Then there’s his curious life away from basketball. For starters, he’s a self-professed tither. That’s right. Olympic Gold medalist and five-time NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade gives 10 percent of his (get this) pre-tax income to God.

“I’m a firm believer in the Bible,” Wade told me back in October of 2005. “I believe everything in there. I’m given so much, so giving 10 percent back to God is nothing to me. That’s why I do it, and I don’t think twice about it.”

What can I say? I mean, I bet 50 to 60 percent of most regular church goers don’t practice the biblical principle of tithing and here’s this very imperfect star athlete going on record (more than once, I might add) that he’s giving back to the “storehouse” as referred to in Malachi 3:10.

And Wade doesn’t just tithe, he’s an All-Star giver too.

In May of last year, Wade purchased a church building for his mother Jolinda (a former drug addict that received Christ while incarcerated) who co-pastors Temple of Praise in his hometown of Chicago.

Then, back in December of 2008, Wade bought a new home for a South Florida woman whose nephew accidentally burned down the family home. He also donated some furnishings, clothing and Christmas gifts.

It’s also been reported that Wade chose the number 3 for his jersey because it represents the Trinity.

So how do we reconcile Wade, the guy with major personal problems, with Wade, the man striving to follow basic Bible truths?

Maybe that’s not something we’re supposed to do. I’m not saying we should prop the guy up as the next Shaun Alexander, Tony Dungy or Kurt Warner-you know, an outstanding godly sports figure that will carry the banner of Christ for all to see. But perhaps we should see his life as a testament to God’s grace and understand that he (just like the rest of us) is a work in progress.

And besides, the only real difference between Wade and the average Christian is that his screw-ups are public knowledge. Most of mine (and yours too, I’m sure) are kept relatively private and don’t make the breaking news ticker on CNN or ESPN.

Which is why Wade (and people like him) remind me a lot of David. Pardon the second David reference in two weeks, but it’s hard not to see some obvious comparisons. Here’s a guy who totally loved God but had all kinds of problems with lust, anger, revenge, poor parenting skills, dishonesty, etc., yet God referred to him as “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22, NIV).

During the procession that brought the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem, David famously gave God uninhibited praise. 2 Samuel 6:14 tells us that he, “danced before the LORD with all his might” and as the Ark entered the city, David was “leaping and dancing before the LORD” (6:16). This was just three months after the newly-crowned king had been humbled in a botched attempt to return the Ark.

Last Tuesday night, Wade celebrated his team’s victory with everything he had and then calmly gave two distinct shout-outs to his God with no concern for what people might think. Even knowing much of his dirty laundry has been publically aired over the past year or so, he did exactly what one might have expected based on his responses to my questions back in 2005.

“There are going to be good time and bad times,” Wade said. “There are going to be people who love me and there are going to be people who don’t love me. As long as you are real with yourself knowing that you’re still human even though some people put you on a pedestal, I know that I have to be the same person no matter if people like me or not.”

Sounds like some pretty solid advice from a guy who knows what it means to sit at both the base and the top of that aforementioned pedestal. Reminds me of the words of Wade’s biblical counterpart found in Psalm 40:1-2.

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”

Chad Bonham is a freelance author, journalist and television and documentary producer from Broken Arrow, Okla. He authored a recent four-book FCA series (Regal Books) and is the coordinating producer on a forthcoming documentary called Choosing Life.

Modern terrorism has plagued our world for decades, but it wasn’t until Sept. 11, 2001 when domestic terrorism in North America was solidified as a legitimate threat. Ironically, it was just two months later when a groundbreaking television program known as 24 was first introduced.

Over the past seven years, the FOX network has fashioned the lead character of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) into a figure of iconic proportions. Bauer is an enigmatic anti-terrorist agent who knows no boundaries in his quest to protect the lives of his fellow Americans. This fictional creation has become so beloved in popular culture, “Jack Bauer for President” t-shirts and other memorabilia have pervaded the public square. There are hundreds of fan sites dedicated to Bauer and a Google search of the name yields over 2 million Internet mentions!

Each season revolves around a single 24-hour period time with the non-stop action taking place in real time. 24’s producers even provide a recurring digital clock mechanism (akin to a time bomb) to remind viewers of that fact. The program comes with a built in “Viewer Discretion is Advised” warning due to the pervasive graphic violence that makes 24 one of the most intense shows in television history.

Beyond the theme of terrorism, 24 is full of sub-plots involving the characters’ histories and working relationships. But don’t be mistaken. At the end of the day, 24 is all about Bauer and his uncanny ability to attract big time trouble with far reaching international repercussions.

In Season 1, Bauer loses his estranged, pregnant wife Teri (Leslie Hope) just as it appeared they might reconcile. In that same season, his daughter Kim (Elisha Cuthbert)-along with her mother-is kidnapped and faces constant danger. In fact, his personal relationships are seemingly always in flux thanks to his demanding job and the perilous situations in which he often finds himself.

Over the course of seven seasons, Bauer has lost his job at the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) and been reinstated on multiple occasions. He has routinely acted as a rogue agent working against the government’s wishes in an effort to get around its cumbersome rules and regulations. In season 7 (which has thus far revealed 12 of its 24 hours), CTU has been dismantled and Bauer is under federal investigation for torture-related crimes.

From the beginning, Bauer has also become a confidante to the Presidents. He has single-handedly saved the country from mass terrorism but lost many close friends in the process, most notably Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) who was apparently killed in the line of fire during season 5 only to return during season 7. Bauer even battled a heroin addiction during season 3 that had developed while infiltrating a powerful Mexican drug cartel.

While Jack Bauer might be a perfect illustration of the anti-hero-or the flawed good guy-you have to go back a few thousand years to find the original. His name was David. This famous Old Testament luminary went from nondescript shepherd to King of Israel in just a few short years (see 1 Sam. 16-31; 2 Sam. 1-24).

David is perhaps most famous for his defeat of the Philistine giant named Goliath, a victory that saved his people, but is also noted for his heroic battles against a lion and a bear while protecting his flock. As King, he was the leader of many great military victories. Even before he was anointed the nation’s ruler, he had the ear of influential men including King Saul.

But thanks to his glaring character flaws, his reign was anything but a smooth ride. Like Bauer, David endured many intense family conflicts. His son Absalom rebelled against him and died attempting to overthrow his reign. Some of David’s household problems stemmed from his lust for women, an addiction that drove him to sleep with another man’s wife-Bathsheba-and send him to the frontline where he would be killed in battled.

David also had power struggles much like the ones displayed in 24. He found himself at odds with his mentor Saul and his popularity as the giant killer eventually undermined the King’s authority. Like Bauer, David felt the sting of personal loss when his best friend Jonathan (the son of Saul) died a warrior’s death.

Just like Jack Bauer and King David, we all have the ability to do great things. But we are likewise flawed and imperfect and make plenty of bad decisions throughout our lives. Too often these mistakes keep us from reaching our full potential. If we’re not careful, we can squander the talents and abilities that God has given us and exchange them for a life of mediocrity and unfulfilled dreams.

Both of these men have something else in common. They both realized that despite their interpersonal imperfections, there was still a greater cause that was worth fighting for. Bauer is driven by his desire to protect his country and its people from terrorism. David was driven by his desire to serve God and the people of Israel from its enemies.

And the amazing thing is that despite David’s countless mess ups, he was still referred to as “a man after God’s own heart” (see Acts 13:22). How can that be? Is it possible that God can use people to do big things even after they have made seemingly unforgivable mistakes? If you take David’s story to heart, the answer must be a resounding, “Yes!” That’s because God is faithful to forgive those who are truly repentant of their sins just as David was (see 2 Samuel 12:13).

When you get off track and start to lose your way, it might take a little longer to get to the place where God intended you to be. But following David’s lead by asking for God’s forgiveness and then moving forward in His grace will straighten out your path in a hurry. It might still take a while to get there, but you will get there nonetheless.