"Uncommon Men"

In my last post, "Living Large" (check it out, now, if you've not already), I mentioned God's description of the man Caleb - - and I've been unable to pry myself away from God's evaluation of this man.  In Numbers 14, God's people had obediently traveled to the edge of fulfilling His promise to them.  Then, due to the emergence of opposition, they lose heart.  The only reasonable thing to do, they rationalize, is to find new leadership to take them back to Egypt -- and to the captivity that has sucked every hope & dream from their lives for generations.  Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb plead with the people to trust God and seize His Promise.  The response of the people is astonishingly succinct, "Let's stone them."

God steps in.

Perturbed.  

Hacked.

Wits end.

Wipe them from the earth.

Start over with you, Moses.

Moses pleads.

You, Lord God, will look incapable...

To those You rescued them from...

To those You rescued them for...

Display Your strength.

God forgives.

Yet, consequences remain.

"Not one of the men...who disobeyed me...will ever see the land I promised...to their forefathers."

"But Caleb has a different spirit..."

He was an Uncommon Man.

(Please watch this.  All of it.  From the 2004 Movie "Miracle" about 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team)

From 1963 to 1980 the Soviet Hockey Team won 15 of 18 World Championships.  

Between 1961 and 1980 the Soviets won every single Olympic Gold Medal.  

They were Giants.  

Unbeatable.

Were.

In the last 31 years, this kind of Life-Effusing accomplishment has become very rare in our culture.

In our "enlightened", 21st century, somebody's mom would've pulled their son off the ice before someone got hurt.  Or, the players would've walked off threatening a law-suit.  And the whole thing would've landed as a "barbaric source of outrage" for some talk-radio hack within two days.

It seems the only discipline we endure is discipline that is inflicted upon us when we simply cannot, in any manner, avoid it.  In this day, it is indeed an uncommon man, who willfully embraces discipline in certain anticipation of the battles that he knows must be fought in order to experience victory.

Victory is a stranger to the one who will not Fight.

Common Men Go Nowhere.
Caleb was an Uncommon Man.

Caleb took hold of the Promise of God.

Not much does this kind of thing - - this kind of LIFE - - happen.  And it will not happen, for you or for me...

Unless...

That's All, Gentlemen.

Semper Fidelis.
Doug