“A Good Guy”

I’ve sometimes thought that you can look at your life like a book with many chapters…. perhaps divided by age, maybe by the good times and the bad times, by successes and failures…. a book still being written. Yet, what about the title…. what will the title be?

I have had the privilege of knowing many good men and women in my life. One of them is the founder of a Christian Community in Scotland…now in his late ‘80’s he’s getting close to the end of the road. What will be the title of his book? I could think of many appropriate ones….. “A Great Man”…”A Kind Man”…. “A Strong Man”… “A Loving Man”. A common phrase he would often use to  describe the men in his community was, “John is a good guy … Anton is a good guy… Steve’s a good guy.”  To David, this was high praise. 

I enjoyed a sports documentary called the “Book of Manning” describing the life of Archie Manning and his family… a powerful look at the first family of football. Archie would use that same phrase when describing someone he admired…. “He’s a good guy”. 

If I had to describe what is contained in the title “A Good Guy”, I would say it’s someone who encapsulates the character qualities of Christ, a man of faith, hope, and love…. a man of courage, and kindness and patience… humble and not boastful… a sense of humor…. tough but not mean….someone who has failed but not quit. He’s someone you want to be around… someone like Christ. I bet when the Lord walked the earth, he was a magnet for others…..” man oh man, I want to follow this man…I want to be like him… he’s someone you can follow….. Jesus the “Ultimate Good Guy”.

Well, this BLOG is really wandering all over the place, but it’s kind of fun to wander sometimes. I can say this….. I’ve known a lot of good men in my lifetime and I’ve known a lot of good guys…. guys that loved the Lord, yet were not perfect, that were sinners… but that didn’t quit… and because they didn’t quit, they finished the race. 

So if you’re reading this BLOG, your book is not yet finished ….. the final chapters haven’t yet been written. You may be coming off a lousy, crummy, discouraging  chapter. If  you find yourself on the ground, get up…. if you can’t get up, glance to your side and you will see our great God with a big smile, who will wrap his loving arms around you and lift you up …. he will dust you off, he will breath strength into your spirit. Listen to his voice as he says, “ this race is not over, it’s time to begin anew…the finish line is not far off…. let’s go.”

Be encouraged….. keep going, let’s not quit. And by the way,  I just saw an advanced copy of your book and guess what the title is….. “He Was A Good Guy”. Wow, that is really good news.