#392 - Kyle Thompson // You Have My Whole Heart. You Always Did

Transcript

Welcome And Why Words Matter

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Welcome to the Daily Blade. The word of God is described as the sword of the spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

The Road And A Son’s Test

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All right, thanks for joining us again. This week on The Daily Blade, we're walking through Cormac McCarthy's The Road. So that's a novel from 2006 and a film from 2009. And we're pulling out the biblical themes and parallels that it's embedded in the content. And we will spend some time looking at the themes that reflect our Heavenly Father and also our earthly fathers. So there's a very poignant moment in the film where the son asks the father, What would you do if I died? And the father responds, If you died, I would want to die too. And then the son says, So you could be with me? And the father simply responds, So I could be with you. I mean, this is a moment of just raw fatherhood, and it's actually a test from the son to the father. Ultimately, the kid wants to know what his worth is. Like if he were to die, he wants to know that his father cares about him so deeply that it would impact him in an undeniable way. Like sons need to know that their fathers would die for them, certainly. The father from the road has demonstrated that several times up to this point in the narrative. And the boy doesn't understand it as some kind of a sentiment. He understands it as capital T truth at that point. When a boy knows that his father's whole heart is wrapped up in him, it shapes his identity. Like it shapes his identity in ways that almost nothing else can.

A Dying Father’s Final Blessing

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And towards the end of the book in the film, we reach the emotional climax. So the father has been sick for much of the movie. You know, he just wasn't doing well physically. He gets to a point where he's coughing up blood. And towards the end of the film, he actually suffers a terrible injury when he was shot by somebody with an arrow. And eventually his body succumbs to the sickness and to his wounds, and his body finally gives up. He dies on the beach, lying next to the son he loves so much. But before he dies, he utters two final sentences to his son. You have my whole heart. You always did. I mean, really, this is the final benediction of a dying father to his son. And throughout the film, we see the father sacrifice for his son. We see him teach his son, we see him guide his son, we see him protect his son, we see him be vulnerable with his son. And the reason he was doing all that is because he wanted to prepare his son for exactly this moment. He wanted to make sure that his son would be prepared to survive without him. That is what any good father wants. And a good father does not make sure that his son is reliant on him alone. I mean, a good father makes sure that the son can rely on himself and rely on God. So

God Declares Identity Before Works

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let's talk about the Heavenly Father parallel. And to do that, let's go to Matthew 3, starting in verse 13. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were open to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Now don't miss this, guys. This is very important because I know it can be easy to get lost in the timeline and the narrative of scripture when we just drop in and out. But God the Father spoke this message over God the Son before God the Son had performed a single miracle. Like he had not gotten into the groove of his public ministry yet. Jesus had not created droves of disciples at this point. This was God doing identity declaration, not performance review, right? And go back to the message of the dying father in the road. He tells his son, you have my whole heart. You always did. He didn't say, All right, son, you earned it, you performed well. Again, the son in this narrative is, you know, eight to ten years old. Like, what can he honestly do to perform well for the father? Like, what he can he do to aid in the betterment of their circumstances given their surroundings. He can essentially do nothing to earn his father's approval anyway. But the father proves to him that none of that matters because his identity is son. His identity is not wrapped up in what he can provide or what he can do and how he can perform.

Tell Your Son He Has You

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And look, before we wrap today, let's go and hit the earthly father parallel. Again, this is a benediction. Every son needs to hear from his father. Ideally, while the father is still alive and healthy, not on his deathbed. But men, say this now. You have my whole heart, you always did. And I'm serious, say it out loud right now. You have my whole heart, you always did. And even better, like, look, if you're listening to this with your son right now, if he's near you, say it to him. You look him right in the face and you say it. You have my whole heart, you always did. And again, it's not because your son is perfect, because he's not. He can't be. It's because he's yours. It's because he's your son. That's grace. I'm telling you, do not leave this planet without telling your son that he has your whole heart and he can do nothing to earn it. It's simply something that he has granted, and then spend the rest of your life, the rest of your days, proving to him that you mean it.

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Thank

Share The Show Stay Sharp

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you for listening to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five star rating and review. Stay sharp.