Awakenings Part 1

Has anyone ever seen the movie Awakenings? For those of you who have never seen it, it stars Robin Williams and Robert Deniro. It is a true story of Oliver Sacks work with patients who suffered from an encephalitis epidemic in the 1920s.  In the movie, Robin Williams plays fictional doctor Malcolm Sayer whose dedication allowed him to find a temporary cure to wake these patients from their catatonic states. This disease had robbed these patients  of their livelihoods. Everything in their lives were stripped away from them in a moment, and now these patients are trying to rebuild their lives.  Although this movie is a bit dated ( it was released in 1990), it always inspires me that one person’s courage and determination helped  others to regain their lives back.

There are a couple of things I observed as I reflected on this movie as a whole.  The first thing I noticed is that the doctor, the nurse, played by Julie Kavner,  and the orderlies believed that these people ‘s lives could be more than what they currently living. They believed they were not living to their fullest potential and worked tirelessly to  enhance that potential. But, their belief didn’t just stay belief. It translated into action, It was through the actions of these select people, that caused the breakthrough medication that these people needed.  Read  Colossians 1:9-10.

A few things about this verse.  One is we always expect that the next Bible study, or if I do a

daily devotional or listen to the Christian radio and think that we will be “ filled” or more 

equipped. However, according to this verse, if God isn’t filling you,  it’s of no use to you. 

I’m not saying that  those things are not good  and that we shouldn’t do them. What I am 

saying is that don’t expect  to do your own filling.  God is the one who fills us with the 

knowledge when we are ready to receive the message. There were many years when I read 

the Bible and didn’t understand a word of it.  I didn’t get the meaning behind it. That’s 

because I was still drinking “spiritual milk”  and not ready for the meat yet. But, about a 

couple of years ago, after years of on and off faithful  reading of the Word, I started 

developing a new love of Scripture and God began to allow me to see the Scriptures in a 

new way and understand them and the context in which it is written.

In the next post, I'll reflect more about this movie and how it relates to our walk with God.