There's Something About a Good Man

I just watched the movie 3:10 to Yuma for the first time. There's nothing quite like getting swept up in the misfortunes of a loyal, soft-spoken rancher, who avenges the crimes of a pack of mangy outlaws, to remind you that there's something about a good man.

A good man stirs up something in my spirit.

He is willing to work hard for little pay, and refuses to wallow in his humiliating circumstances.

He chooses integrity over monetary gain, and would rather be remembered for his strength of conviction, than his power and affluence.

A good man's love for his family is selfless, and often leads him to stare death in the face, without blinking.

He models for his boys how to sweat hard, get dirty, and feel good about a day's work.

He makes a pair of wranglers look mighty fine.

He will postpone a long day's work to help a hurting stranger.He has a resolute determination to do what's right, even when his decision leads him down a road wrought with sorrow and hardship.

He embodies justice, but shows his enemies mercy.

When I see a good man, he evokes in me a fierce respect for my strong father and a deep love for my selfless mother. The good man makes me want to seek truth and hold fast to compassion. He makes me want to develop strength of character in my children, be a loyal wife to my husband, and always choose integrity over the easy route. He inspires me to be patient when I'm besieged by responsibilities, and to remain calm when tragedy strikes. He makes me want to be innovative, frugal, and content with little. A good man makes me want to skin and gut my own dinner. He stirs in me a longing to see mercy trump justice, and grace transform wicked hearts. He motivates me to work for my keep, pray for my daily bread, and be generous with what I have.

But in the end, the good man doesn't actually help me to do any of these things. And I guess, in the end, his heroic antics get him shot, his son still has a bad cough, his wife still has to put food on the table, and his kids have to learn to be a man without their father. Perhaps, if he happens to do a favor for a wealthy banker before he dies, his wife won't have to wear shabby dresses anymore, and his sons might learn how to read. Who knows, the bad guy's heart might even soften when he sees the tenacious drive of the good man to be good in the face of death. And maybe, just maybe, the bad guy goes to his grave feeling sorry for the lives and families he's destroyed. But he still dies eventually. Just like everyone else the good man knows.

Because there's something about a good man that just isn't enough.

"For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?" Ecclesiastes 6:12

"You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard." Romans 3:23

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17