I was watching the movie The Right Stuff when my
wife walked in, grabbed the remote, and changed the
channel. That’s right men, she
—changed—the—channel! Can you believe it? I went
from watching one of the all-time great “dude”
movies to suddenly wondering if some girl would say
yes to the dress. My wife just doesn’t get it!
The Right Stuff is a movie about the early days of
the American space program that focuses on the lives
of the first astronauts and the struggles they faced
as they risked their lives so our nation could reach
space. The movie also focuses on Chuck Yeager, the
test pilot who initially breaks the sound barrier,
but never becomes as famous as the men who go up
into space. It would be a deep regret of his for a
majority of his life.
I’m sure many of you who are around my age can
remember the early days of the American space
program. The whole thing of sending a man into space
was an exciting—and scary—thing. I can remember
watching those rockets sitting there on the launch
pad getting ready to hurtle into space, and
wondering if they would get back safely. And
choosing those first astronauts was a challenge. Not
just anybody could be the first men up; it would
take a very special person, a person with just the
right qualities.
When Tom Wolfe wrote his book about these first
astronauts, he also called it The Right Stuff. That
term, “the right stuff,” was coined to describe the
special qualities that a person needed to have in
order to undertake such an out-of-this-world
challenge. Of course, there was a physical
dimension: some people were simply weeded out
because their eyesight was not good enough or
because their blood pressure rose too quickly. But
mainly “the right stuff” referred to those inner
qualities: self-
confidence, but not risky arrogance, courage,
coolness under duress. At every level of training,
more and more people were eliminated because they
just didn’t have “the right stuff.”
The public adored the astronauts once they actually
made it into space. These men, through their skill
and willingness to risk their lives, gave
America back our feeling of honor. There were
magazine covers and TV specials as well as ticker
tape parades. One such parade was done in 17 degrees
weather! Even in the extreme cold, people were
waving flags, hanging over railings, and standing
for hours on the New York streets just to get a
glimpse of these men.
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Alan Shepherd was one of these men who had the right
stuff. He was America’s first suborbital astronaut!
But when he wanted to go the moon a health problem
arose and resulted in his being grounded. Stuck with
a desk job, he vividly dreamed of going to the moon.
It was sheer determination (spirit) more than
anything else that finally made that dream into
reality. Tears flowed on the moon and earth when
Alan Shepherd landed on that rock and beamed back to
earth. “It was a long trip, but I finally made it,”
he reported.
Here’s a little look into my own childhood: The
first time any teacher asked me what I was one day
dreaming of becoming, I didn't say “preacher” (sorry
about that). No, I was just like many boys back
then, I wanted to be an astronaut. One major
problem, when it came to math skills, I didn’t have
the right stuff. Truth be told, in just about every
area needed to go into space, I didn’t have the
right stuff.
However, my goals in life have changed dramatically.
Oh, I still look forward to going up one day, but
not into space. I’m looking to something higher than
that. My goal is to reach the Father in heaven and
take as many people with me as I can. And the good
news . . . I have the right stuff to make that dream
a reality.
Do you think you have the right stuff? No, I’m not
talking about your abilities. I mean do you have
Jesus. He is the only one who has the right
stuff. And once we’re connected to Him, we become
people with the right stuff too.
[Ron Otto, Preaching minister at Lincoln
Christian Church] |
