A Beautiful Life

Today, June 5th, was a rainy and cloudy day here in Buffalo, MN. I went for a long run and then had my breakfast and lunch together. I thought of all the projects I wanted to do but somehow felt sitting and resting was more to my liking. In fact, picking up a book and catching up on some reading was especially attractive.

I had read and been greatly blessed by James Bryan Smith’s book, “The Good and Beautiful God,” and had purchased the second in a series of three, “The Good and Beautiful Life.” This seemed like a good time to get started on this new book. Chapter one carried the same title as the book, so let’s see what the author is talking about. In the earlier book Mr. Smith described the concept of life narratives and how they influence the way we view reality and live our lives. In this first chapter of “The Good and Beautiful Life,” he compares the life stories of two men.

Ben, who he met when he worked in a nursing home, eventually opened up to him and shared the sadness of his soul. He was born in 1910 and had made his first million at the age of 35. He went on to run a large company and was extremely successful, financially, but he treated people badly, lied, swindled, and did whatever it took to gain the advantage over others. He was married 3 times, all ending in divorce and had one daughter who was estranged to him. While others thought he had lived the good life and been successful, he in fact was in great personal misery.

The other story is that of John Wooden. Mr. Wooden is believed, by everyone who knows basketball, to be the greatest basketball coach ever and many believe he is the greatest coach of any sport. His goal was never to develop great basketball players but to develop great men and he taught every player, principles of living the good life based on his knowledge of the life and teachings of Jesus. He was humble, loyal, disciplined, and happy. He was so loved by all who graduated from his program at UCLA that many called him regularly for years and decades later.

I am writing this down today because John Wooden died yesterday. The many stories about his beautiful life are all over the media. Was it a coincidence that I picked up this book today and found this comparison of two lives of two men born in the same year, 1910? I don’t think so. If we follow the world’s view of success and the good life we will likely come to the end of our lives with many regrets. The narrative the John Wooden followed is not unique to him but the simple message of Jesus available to us all. God loves us and wants us to enjoy the best life. It’s a choice to trust him or believe the message of the world. It may sound good with many promises but the end is not what is promised.

By the way, after several months, Ben came to give his life over to Jesus and spent 10 more years as a different person. He reconciled with his daughter who confirmed at his passing that Ben was a different man. There was still time to experience “The Good and Beautiful Life.” Of course, this door was still open to him because of our "Good and Beautiful God."