God's NOT Dead!

As usual, I'm way behind the times.  I finally had a chance to see the movie "God's NOT Dead" over the weekend and in spite of some overly stereotypical representation of the secular world, I found it quite compelling in at least two areas.  First, I found the courage of so many of the young people in the movie very convicting.  From a student who was confronted by an unscrupulous instructor to a young lady kicked out of her family due to her faith, I found the faith challenges in the movie convicting.  I found myself asking "how would I respond in those circumstances?"  I'm not sure I would have had the same courageous response demonstrated in the movie.  I'm positive I wouldn't be able to debate an instructor with the poise presented in the movie.  The long list of court cases in the closing credits the movie was loosely based upon shows that faith is under attack in America perhaps just as much as elsewhere in the world.  Here it is much more an insidious mental attack verses an outright threat of bodily harm in other areas around the world.  The threat is very real and I'm not sure I've responded with the kind of courage necessary to have the impact shown in the movie.  Clearly, my game could use some "stepping up!"
Secondly, I found it quite interesting how the movie showed that we're all on the front lines of ministry.  The campus minister greeted his missionary friend and it was obvious from the script that he felt unusable by God in his present position.  Yet, he proved to be in a critical position to lend eternal aid to several who had no real alternatives in the secular world.  Clearly, we simply need to keep our eyes open and our hearts willing to serve as there are hurting and lost people all around us each and every day. 
I found this movie compelling.  It kicked off a very useful dialogue in my own family about at least these two issues.  If you haven't seen it, I recommend you not just rent it, but buy it and view it with your family not just once, but several times looking for insight as to how God is challenging you to grow and how He can use you exactly where He has placed you.