Devotion

Well Done, and Thank You (Tribute to Chadwick Boseman)
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. --- Romans 5:3-5

The passing of Chadwick Boseman continues to affect us in a most profound way. Of all his exceptional movie credits - it is Chadwick's role in the Marvel Comics superhero movie - The Black Panther (2016) - that made a global impact on people of all colors. As King T'Challa, he and his costars made the richness and royalty of Black culture, the sacredness of family heritage, strong community, equal justice, and transparent leadership leap from the movie screens and into our hearts and minds forever! And as inspiring as he was in the movie, it is Chadwick's personal life that beheld the ultimate of inspirations. He was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer in 2016, but he didn't let it stop what he had to deliver to this world. While we dare to complain about the slightest things, he rose above everything about his condition proving the greatness of God within him. That was his determined mindset. It was no small challenge to fulfill what his profession required of him in between having surgeries and chemo treatments, and taking medications to fight the disease. Imagine the pain, exhaustion, and medical updates that tested his mental, emotional, and spiritual endurance. Through it all, he didn't  give media and skeptics a chance to bury him while he was yet alive. He royally walked out his faith in God, and he died with dignity. We have many courageous people living among us who are walking through similar challenges, but we can't tell it because they, too, have chosen the same path that Chadwick chose to walk. It is a path that leads to their victory in God. Chadwick gave his best performance last by vividly depicting Philippians 4:13 (NIV): 'I can do all this through him who gives me strength'.  God's Word is the Living Word, and our brother left us with that to believe in. Well done...and thank you, Chadwick.