The Blind Side

"Bear one another's burdens"

Galatians 6:2

Have you seen the movie "The Blind Side"?  A wonderful Sandra Bullock movie.  I just saw it on video a few weeks ago, and it has really stuck with me.  The plot of the movie is a family who takes in a high-schooler who has no place to live.  He's a football player who goes on to the NFL, but the position he plays is that of Left Tackle.  This is where the name of the movie comes from, because it is the Left Tackle who protects the Quarterback from the onrush of opposing players.  He protects his blind side.

It's a wonderful movie about showing love ~ the family toward the young man they invite to their home ~ but also the the young man and his devotion to them.  But the concept of protecting someone's "blind side" is explored from several angles.  As a Left Tackle, protecting the Quarterback; as a mother protecting a struggling young man for whom she feels compassion; as a teen-ager without a family protecting those who took a chance on loving him.

This is the concept that keeps returning to my mind.  And the more I think about it, the more I think that this is exactly what we are called to do as Christians.  Being there for someone else is selfless.  It means thinking of someone else's needs or wants... about what's best for them.  It can even mean putting yourself in danger for the sake of someone else.  And not just thinking of someone else, not just being there for them, not just protecting them, but watching their blind side.  Looking out for what they don't see coming.

We all have reason to protect ourselves.  We worry about our own blind sides.  But I think if we are giving priority to someone else, God will make sure He's got someone looking out for us.

Look around at who He's got in your life.  There should be someone for whom you are their back-up; their protector.  It might be a spouse or a child or even a parent.  But for most of us, that's not it.  Unless you have a family member who requires an unusual amount of attention, He's probably led you to someone ~ a friend, someone at church or in your ministry ~ for whom He is asking you to be self-less... an assistant, a protector, a backup... He's asking you to watch someone's blind side.

~ "Bear one another's burdens, 

and so fulfill the law of Christ" ~

Galatians 6:2