How many men long to be like William Wallace since the appearance of the movie Braveheart? Millions, I imagine. But how many will be? So clear in his thinking, so resolute to the end, so pure in his motives, so grounded in suffering and loss, so strong and able to handle himself, and driven by one thing: freedom for Scotland that purified all else. How many?
How many would want to be like Robert the Bruce after the movie came out? Not many, I imagine. But the chances of each of us becoming like Robert the Bruce is much greater. Robert the Bruce as portrayed in the movie compromised, and betrayed, and failed, and was drawn to the passion of William like a moth to a flame. And came to realize the source of his compromise, and 2 facedness, and lack of passion, and chose to turn away before it was too late. He declared to his father, his beguiler: "I will never be on the wrong side again." His father only knew compromise and rhetoric and survival as a means to get his goal. In William, Robert began to see another way, a purer and higher way, the way of passion, and pure motive, and living with no compromise. It took looking into the eyes of William as he betrayed him for Robert to realize he was wrong, his father's way was wrong (at least in the move version; we have no reason to believe historically that this betrayal actually occurred). And so he turned from that way. But his father did not and it led to William's death, but also made the man who historically did become the King of Scotland and defeated England in battle.
Now the real history is unclear, but the truths told in this story called Braveheart are beautiful. It is why this is my favorite movie of all time. And I have realized I can like Robert the Bruce. It's not too late to live without compromise and follow those before me who have blazed a hard path.
So whether we come to an uncompromising life the short painful way (which might require something that stirs us deeply as did William's great losses: his parents and brother and his wife, and seeing what a cruel king really did and lived by), which for many of us we will probably not see, or if we get there the long way by finally realizing we are full of compromise and rhetoric and playing games while people of real passion are following God's call NOW and suffering for it, &/or accomplishing great things in His name, it does not matter. We are where we are in life. And if you or I see now that God's great call on us to be a light and to be His uncompromising people is what is really going on, and the seeking of peace with a world that will never give it to us and it would not matter if it did because we would have lost our soul on the way anyway is how we have been actually living, then let us follow Robert the Bruce and say, "I will never be on the wrong side again."
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