The Nutty Professor (Judges 2)
You might remember the 1996 remake of the 1963 Jerry Lewis film "The Nutty Professor". Eddie Murphy (aka Sherman Klump) plays an incredibly brilliant and good hearted man who is extremely overweight. Enter Carla Purty (played by the lovely Jaida Pinkett Smith), a very attractive college teacher. Klump falls madly in love with her but realises that there is no way this gorgeous young lady would date a clumsy fat man. He invents a miracle weight loss potion in the hope of winning the girl of his dreams. He tries it on himself, transforming him into Buddy Love, his very slim, stylish and party going alter ego.
How cool would that be if such a potion existed! The amount of time and effort I've spent on maintaining a semi-alright body weight could have been saved simply by one drink of this magic elixir. Imagine a world where we could eat whatever we want and not put on weight! No gym, no diet, no early morning jogs. No pain, all gain.
I think this must be the secret prayer of a lot of us. But the reality is to lose weight and look good, we need to watch what we eat and exercise often. It takes a lot of effort on our behalf. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how many gym memberships you have, how many episodes of 'The Biggest Loser' you watch or if you have an army of personal trainers, dietitians and supportive friends at your disposal, if you don't commit to putting in the effort yourself, nothing will change.
There a few people who I admire greatly. One of these is Smith Wigglesworth.
Born in poverty in 1859, he overcame tremendous obstacles in childhood and early adulthood to follow after God with his whole heart. He is considered by many to be a modern day Apostle of Faith and one of the most influential evangelists in the early history of pentecostalism. He saw many miracles take place and raised 23 people from the dead, including his wife Polly. He travelled the world in the 1920's and 1930's seeing thousands saved and healed.
I can look on as a spectator and admire all that God used him for and pray that one day God may choose to do the same with me, but what is not seen is the price that was paid to carry such an anointing.
Smith refused to read anything but the Bible, which he would do every hour. He would pray and fast constantly. He made a commitment to God that he would not go to sleep at night until he had won one soul to Christ. In his early years of ministry he spent hours and days fervently seeking God. He said, "You must every day make higher ground. You must deny yourself to make progress with God. ou must refuse everything that is not pure and holy. God wants you pure in heart. He wants you to have an intense desire after holiness."
Just like Professor Klump, we often seek out the easy road in building our relationship with God. The quick fix. The one which costs us little but we receive maximum benefits. To walk close to God comes at a price. Am I prepared to pay that price?
The children of Israel learned that to follow God comes with a price. God will do His part but He expects that we will do ours. It's called obedience.
Sometimes I think that we wish that God would do the work of Christian maturity for us, that we would wake up one morning and a certain besetting sin will just be gone. Sometimes God grants such a miraculous deliverance, and we praise Him for it. But more commonly, He requires our partnership with Him in the process of Christian growth. We have a part to play.
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