Rocky And Me

I love Rocky Balboa. And it's always been that way. It seems like he is a part of me in a way I can't grasp. When I was five years old, I would watch Rocky II over and over and over, befuddling my parents and cousins. I could not watch it enough. For some reason there was always something that just shook deep inside of me when that music pounded in, and the crowd would start shouting, "ROCK-EE, ROCK-EE, ROCK-EE." It made me feel like I could do anything and be anybody.

That's not right. Instead of this truth crushing me, destroying my childhood, it has freed me. Watching ROCKY BALBOA tonight, I could not help but praise Jesus for saving me, and for rescuing me when I went away. He has already won the fight for us. There is no amount of will, training, striving, determination, or perseverance that we can ever bring to his altar. He has done it all. Then he gave us all.

It has taken life bringing me to my knees to see this. It has taken pain, hurt, rejection. It has taken Him to open my eyes. I can't do it. I can't overcome, I can't persevere, I can't defy the odds. Oh! How mad this would have made me to read just a short time ago. It goes against everything our country stands for, and all that I've loved about Rocky. But it's truth, and this truth does set me free! Jesus paid it all. He fought in the ring for us, and through his death, and resurrection, he won. He gave us the victory. Not for anything we have done, but because of what HE has done. Oh! How freeing this is. Father, thank you! And may this truth be blazed on your world. May we ever praise your name.

What a beautiful thing. God has done an amazing work in my life in the past year through his grace. He has surrounded me with a church home that I pleaded with him to give me, and he has placed me in the loving care of those who love him. And at the end of this New Year, I got something for Christmas. A new Rocky film. After all the hours and hours of watching, dreaming, hoping, and praying for a victory in something, he has shown me the victory in everything--grace, peace from striving, hope--Jesus. Oh! How merciful you are. With this view, I watched a new Rocky. I saw this Rocky from the eyes of grace.

Do you know what? It was a beautiful story. For with the eyes of grace, there is truth in Rocky's story. There is beauty in his life. In how he loves, how he hopes, how he mourns, how he fights. Yes, how he fights. Because once we know that there is nothing we can bring to God, then we can know he, by his power, will call us to struggle, to fight, to preservere for his glory. He will give us the strength, not ourselves. And all the while, we shall know the victory has been won.

I still love Rocky Balboa. Maybe more than ever. But I love him with the knowledge of God's unfathomable grace. Thanks ROCK. Thanks for whispering truth to me through these years. Thank you for movies and stories. Thank you for Rocky Balboa.