There is a wonderful scene in the movie Secondhand Lions, in which Robert Duvall's character is sharing with his nephew a part of his "What Every Man Needs to Know" speech.
"Sometimes, the things that may or may not be true are the things that a man needs to believe in the most - that people are basically good; that honor, courage and virtue mean everything. That power and money, money and power mean nothing. That good always triumphs over evil. Now I want you to remember this: that love, that true love never dies. Remember that, boy. Remember that. It doesn't matter if it's true or not. You see, a man should believe in those things because those are the things worth believing in."
I love this and I believe it to be true. But there are two things that I would add. The first is that there are many things that must be believed in order to be seen, to be lived, to be experienced. I've said this before but I continue to see ways in which it is true. If you believe there is something bigger than yourself working for good and grace and love, you will see it in action. If you don't believe it, you will either fail to see the it altogether, or you will assign it a different meaning. You will see something else. When I was at the worst point in my life, I was driving to visit a loved one who was dying and the song "Lean On Me" came on the radio. For me, it has always been what I call a "God-song" in that I hear God telling me all will be okay, that there is something bigger than me to trust in no matter what is happening in my life. After visiting the one who was dying, I started to drive home, I switched the radio station and the song came on the radio a second time. "Okay, God," I said, "but some people would assume this is just a coincidence. I need a third time to be assured it's from you." As I walked into my house at home, the phone was ringing and it was one of my parishioners. He said, "I know we are scheduled to show a specific movie tomorrow evening at church, but I'm really feeling that we need to show a different one. I really feel we need to show 'Lean On Me' instead...." That evening as I drove to church for a meeting, the song "Lean on me" came on the radio yet again. Because of my beliefs, because of the relationship I have with God, I believe that this was God in action, moving, talking, speaking to me. But for those who do not believe, it was just a weird coincidence. It would have had no real meaning whatsoever. I understand that. I don't fault those who interpret it differently. In order to see God, God must be believed in. It doesn't work the other way. For me, God is worth believing in. The God I believe in is Love, grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, compassion and healing. I believe that to be bigger than everything else, to be stronger than anything else, to be more vulnerable and more beautiful than all else put together. That is the God I believe in. As I result, I see that God everywhere I look. I choose to believe in that God. And though others might be able to "prove" that this God does not exist, I choose to believe, because a God of love and compassion and grace is worth believing in. As a result of my choice to believe in that God, I see that God everywhere I go and everywhere I look. I experience that God in everyone I meet and in everything that I do.
The second thing that I would add to what Robert Duvall's character said is that we are a huge part of creating the world in which we live, and that act of creation begins with what we believe to be true. When we believe that good always triumphs over evil, we are much more likely to fight for the good, even when it is hard, even when it seems an unlikely win, even when the effort is great. When we believe that there is a God of Love who cares about each one of us beyond our imagining, then we have the strength to live a life that is without fear, because we believe that nothing can separate us from that Love, from that care, from that grace.
I know that my belief in these things has made me a better human being. I know that my belief in these things has made me more loving, kind, compassionate, and grace-ful towards others. I choose to believe in Love, in grace, in God because when I see them and experience them, I also live them out in my relationships with others. My beliefs make me better and they make my world better as I live out my faith. And for me, that makes them things worth believing in.
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