Who Is This?

"How big is the universe? asks Alicia Larde (Jennifer Connolly) of John Forbes Nash, Jr. (Russell Crowe) in the movie A Beautiful Mind as the couple gaze at the stars during a date.

Nash, who is Larde's professor, responds, "Infinite."

"How do you know for sure?," says Alicia.

Nash says, "I don't. I just believe."

"It's the same with love I guess," Larde replies.

Love is not the only thing on Nash's mind. One of the fears that Nash has is that he will not come up with a truly original idea in his profession. He pushes himself relentlessly in pursuit of his truly original idea.

Abram, who God later names Abraham, was afraid that he would not have a child. In response to his fear, God said to Abram in a dream recorded in Genesis 15:1 Amplified Bible, ". . . Fear not, Abram, I am your Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great."

God and Abram also do some stargazing. Genesis 15:5 Complete Jewish Bible says, "Then he brought him outside and said, “Look up at the sky, and count the stars — if you can count them! Your descendants will be that many!”"

Larde and Nash date and marry. Abram and God are already married. However, everyone but God has a lot to learn about love. 1 John 4:18-19 Amplified Bible says, "There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection]. We love Him, because He first loved us."

Nash is so smart and strangely sexy. Larde initiates their relationship and is excited about her catch. However, it isn't long after marrying that Nash exhibits truly bizarre behavior.

Nash seemed so capable when Larde married him. Later Larde and others discover that Nash has paranoid schizophrenia. He often has delusional dreams that he avidly participates in and at times his mental illness prohibits him from working and performing sexually. In one scene Larde screams in the bathroom after Nash refuses sexual relations.

Instead of waiting for God to open his wife's, Sarah's, womb, in fulfillment of God's promise to bless Abraham and Sarah's lovemaking with a child, Abraham agrees to have sex with Hagar, Sarah's maid. Ishmael is conceived from Hagar's and Abraham's sinful, extra-marital, sexual relationship.

Later when Ishmael is an adolescent, Sarah asks Abraham to cast Ishmael and Hagar out of Sarah's and Abraham's home. Abraham is hurt, but God says this is His will, and God will make a great nation of Ishmael.

Even though God does not always do what Abraham expects, he remains in love with God. Even though Nash is deeply ill and dysfunctional, Larde remains in love with Nash. Larde doesn't divorce Nash.

We can find ourselves in relationships that at times we ask something like, "Who is this?" When people don't behave the way we expect, it can be hard to take, and some take off.

But the love of God operating inside believers seeks to grow and overcome the obstacles of relationships. 1 Corinthians 13:7 Amplified Bible says, "Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]."

One day the pain and disappointment in this life's relationships will cease and something far superior will commence. Revelations 21:3-4 New Living Translation promises, "I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”"

What is any trouble in this life's relationships compared to the ecstasy of relating with God face to face forever?

A Yoruba of Nigeria proverb says, "One should keep one's eyes on one's destination, not on where one stumbled."

Marian Anderson

We do not pull our own selves up by our own boot strings. Instead God and God working through us and many other people are our path to success.

I come from a long legacy of bold, bright, beautiful, black, Christian women -- Linda, my mother, Mildred, my grandmother, Pearl, my great-grandmother and many others including Singer and Civil Rights Activist Marian Anderson.

In eternity past God choose specific talents to give each and every one of us. God choose the singing gift for Marian. Marian has a strong, contralto voice able to climb more than 24 notes.

When she was six years old she joined her church choir. Marian's gift was so obvious that church members set up a trust fund to help pay for her musical training.

Marian worked her blessing. Marian realized her potential and discovered her unique individuality. She became a professional singer, singing all over the world and recording records that sold to millions.

Finding work and being prosperous were very hard. Many would not hire Marian because she is black. In 1939 the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to let Marian perform at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., because Marian is black, and they had a white-performers-only policy. Eleanor Roosevelt, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's wife, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a human rights activist, resigned from the group in protest. Eleanor then arranged for Marian to sing in a bigger venue -- on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., for an Easter morning concert. More than 75,000 came out for the concert that made Civil Rights history.

What Marian and Eleanor did is Christlike -- black and white working together for good. Romans 12:21 Amplified Bible says, "Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good."

Marian with the help of others overcame other obstacles of discrimination. Marian sang in eight languages. She was the first black person to sing a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Some people are in sin and do not want to embrace black people and other people of color in the mainstream of American life. With God on our side nothing is impossible. We shall overcome in all areas of life surrounding ourselves with God and Christians who live by 1 Peter 4:8 Amplified Bible which says, "Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others]."

Please share on-line stories of people of color overcoming in Christ.