I’ve mentioned in a previous post that one of my all time favorite movies was Shawshank Redemption. Today I want to talk Brooks. Today I want to talk Red.

First – Brooks. In the movie, a peaceable older man. In jail a long long time for a crime committed many years prior. Brooks became very comfortable in jail. He was the librarian. He was overall well liked. And Brooks grew accustomed to jail. That was his life. That was his home. Brooks became so comfortable that his release after 50 years of imprisonment was a shock. A shock he couldn’t handle. After being out for a short time. A job in a grocery store. He wanted to go back. He considered committing another crime to return to the life he found comfortable. Anything to get back there. Ultimately, Brooks was so despondent over his release, he took his own life.

How many of us are a “Brooks”? We’ve been living somewhere for so long that it’s comfortable. Maybe even, somewhere we shouldn’t be, but it’s where we are. So comfortable. Too comfortable. We fear leaving. There are many places/things we can find comfort in, that maybe we shouldn’t. And many of us, or maybe someone we know, are there. In a world we don’t want to be in, but are too afraid to leave. But there’s a better way. A way out. Find someone you trust. Someone you aren’t afraid to share with. Someone that cares about you. Cares less about where you are and more about where you could be. Wants to help you. Help you become you.

Then there was Red. Murder. Red took 3 lives. His wife and accidentally two neighbors with her. Red was given a life sentence. And served a number of those years. Years that softened him. But, also years that made prison comfortable. The difference. The big difference. When Red was surprisingly released, he had a plan. To find Andy. And to better himself. And he did.

So what will we do? Stay in the world we’ve put ourselves in. Somewhere we maybe shouldn’t be. Because we are comfortable. Because we are afraid. Of what it will take to have a different life. I say be a Red, don’t be a Brooks.

The jail that holds you. Break out. Break free. Live the life you were made for. Live the life Jesus has for you.