One of my favorite holiday movies is Scrooged. Bill Murray played the role based on Ebenezer Scrooge and Carol Kane played the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past. I read an article where Carol Kane talked about her dancing scene in the movie. She was supposed to have a serious dance scene that would mainly be performed by a professional ballerina. But they would need to have transitions of Carol dancing to blend with the ballerina to make it believable.
So, Carol took ballet lessons and worked hard to be ready for the scene. After several difficult weeks, she knew that she was ready. She met the film’s art director at the studio to show him the result of her hard work. Knowing that she would have a professional ballerina as her double, she wanted her dancing to be as pretty as possible. She was concentrating on each move but soon she was distracted – by laughing. The art director was laughing so hard that he was almost crying. But he convinced the director and producer that they needed to let Carol do the entire dance herself. Carol admitted her best was still bad, but it was funny and it was the best her character could do.
What made the scene work was not her excellence in ballet (she didn’t have it) but her willingness to sacrifice for something greater than herself. For the sake of a sweet, funny scene, she had to admit that all her hard work created something really funny. If we want to make a difference in this world, we need to yield to the greater good.
Things didn’t go as planned for Mary and Joseph, either. After they became engaged, they were planning a life together when an angel told each of them that Mary was pregnant with Jesus. They were devout and understood that following God’s will would not only be the best life for them, but also the way they could make a difference in the world. They didn’t fully understand all that was being asked of them and the impact it would have, but nonetheless, they committed to follow God’s will.
When we commit our lives to following Christ, things might not always go as we had planned, but it will be a better life for us and the best way we can truly make a difference in the world.
– Dr. Robert E. Long, Senior Pastor
