“the real deal” (def.): genuine, authentic, worthy of serious regard
Walt Kowalski (to Father Janovich): “Well, I think you’re an overeducated 27-year-old virgin who likes to hold the hands of old ladies who are superstitious and promises them eternity.”
–from the movie “Gran Torino”
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
–Psalm 18: 16-19
Some say…like Walt…that God and the gift of salvation, it’s all just an elaborate fairy tale.
Oh, really?
So…trusting in the world is more…realistic? Reliable?
Count on others to supply all our needs, make us happy, never disappoint us?
Count on a career to lift us to a greater level of purpose and fulfillment?
Count on money, our home, our cars, vacations, the “deal of the day,” to boost our quality of life, settle us, ground us?
Count on a political party or social cause to bring us peace, stability, unity, an awareness of our place and function in the world?
Count on ourselves alone (because I can trust me…right?) to find our path, our reason for being, the meaning of life?
Mmmm hmmm.
See what I mean?
This isn’t some “Oh, aren’t you Miss Smartypants-all-high-and-mighty?” sanctimonious lecture…
Because I’ve been there.
In the land of great marketing, empty promises, and even emptier results.
That “fairy tale” featuring the Lord is the only one that truly ends in “Happily Ever After…”
For eternity!
But before the last chapter, there’s going to be a journey of indeterminate length, an epic, Hobbit-esque odyssey, brimming with a cast of characters, allies and enemies, good and evil, despair and joy…
Orcs in the form of capricious coworkers…
Landscapes that rival Rivendell…
No Gandalf as your wingman…but the Greatest of All Time.
The original GOAT…then, now, forever.
Our Savior Jesus Christ.
In a world of fairy tales, He IS the Real Deal.