Recently I learned of a movie entitled A Thousand Words. In
it, a man learns that a tree containing a thousand leaves will lose one of them
each time he utters (or writes) a word. When all the leaves are gone, he will
die.
It’s about a literary agent, and the importance of words.
What a winning combination, I first thought. But I read the professional reviews and found that it is considered by many
to be one of the worst films ever made.
Too bad – the synopsis seemed terrific. It made me think,
“What would be the 1000 words I would (undoubtedly hoard but) eventually use?”
I would of course want to tell some people that I love them.
But I think I’d be finding ways to show it more effectively. If they didn’t
know it from previous words, I’d make sure they knew it from my actions. (Not a
bad thing, now that I think about it.)
What would I say or write with my other words?
I’m starting a list of the most important things I know.
Top of the list is this: I believe that Jesus Christ lived,
died, was buried – and physically came back to life.
Secondly, the essential fact that God seems to delight in and
shine in impossible situations. Abraham and Sarah were too old; Pharaoh’s
armies were too powerful; the walls of Jericho were too strong; Goliath was too
big; Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace was too hot; Mary was too virgin; Jesus was too
dead. . .
Thirdly, the most helpful spiritual truth I’ve learned is
that faith comes in three phases: Promise, Contradiction, and Resolution. Everybody
needs to know this, and I need to be reminded of it.
Would you write in prose? Would you dole out your words in poems?
How about you? What would you regard as essential to pass on
to other human beings, if you only had 1000 words left?
