Jerry Maguire - My Take

I thought Jerry Maguire was an amazing movie and had tons of biblical principles in it. One of the principles that come to mind was that in order to "find your life" you have to "lose your life". Jesus said that in terms of following Him. In order for Jerry to live his dream and operate in his new found faith in his destiny, he had to literally lose his previous shallow existence as a sports agent, (with all the trappings) in order to find his new life as a person of meaning and destiny.

This is often the case when people come to Christ. Many of the old relationships and trappings of the past fall away as they embark on their new destiny following Jesus on a path of significance.

The other biblical parallels include some of the Characters. I believe that Jerry's agent-mentor - Dicky Fox - represented the Father God. The agent was played by an older Jewish man. He was brimming with positive life truths and insights. He existed in a different dimension (Jerry's Past), but He was forever there for him with words of encouragements and grace such as - "Roll with the punches, tomorrow is a new day." The Word of the Father didn't return void, but accomplished what it said it would do. The bible says to "Enter boldly into the throne of Grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Whenever we are facing life's difficulties and things look impossible we can go to the Father and find mercy and grace from a loving God and ultimately solutions to life's troubles. There are always "answer awaiting in the Presence of God."

The Cuba Gooding Character - Rod Tidwell - represented Jesus as he kept his word and stuck by Jerry in times of adversity. Jesus is called "The friend that sticks closer than a brother" and "The Brother born for adversity". When Jerry's life fell apart, Rod stuck by him through thick and thin, until they finally got their breakthrough. This is like Jesus who always sticks with you, even with times get rough. Jesus is called in the old testament "The Lord of the Breakthrough." During times of adversity, Jesus will stick with you and see you through to your breakthrough. Even if the world forsakes you...He never will.

Jerry's wife - Dorothy Boyd - represented the Holy Spirit as she represented the tenderness, compassion, and comfort of God. The Holy Spirit is called the "Comforter" and the "Helper". Like the Holy Spirit, she was there for support and help and never stopped "believing" in Jerry even when he was having trouble believing in himself. She was also like the Holy Spirit, in that she "completed him". When the Holy Spirit comes and takes up residence in our hearts, He takes away our emptiness and aloneness and fills us to overflowing with Himself.

Dorothy was also like the Holy Spirit, in that she desired to know Jerry intimately. The work of the Holy Spirit is to transition one out of the drudgery of religion, and bring one into an intimate relationship and fellowship with God. It's not of enough to know about God, but to actually know Him intimately and for us to share our hearts with Him. As Dicky Fox said: "The key to this business is personal relationships". That was the heart of Dorothy with Jerry, and the heart of God to us.

The final character that represented a biblical theme was Jerry's adopted son, Ray. Ray represented "child-like faith". Jesus said:

"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18: 3-4

Throughout the movie, Jerry had to continue to change and learn a new way of thinking and seeing the world in order to operate effectively in his new life of significance. The word "repent" in the Bible means "to let go of the low way and embrace the high way". The word "penthouse" is rooted in the word "repent". Ray's innocence and child-like humility helped Jerry to let go of the "low way" of his previous "all-about-me" existence to embrace the "high way" of a life worth living.

One definition of insanity is to continue to do the same things over and over and expect things to change. Jerry realized that for him to have the life he'd never had before, he would have to do some thing he'd never done before and, as a result, become the man he had never been before. This required a child-like faith and embracing change.

The last principle that came to mind was the principle of perserverance. Jerry and his new friends and covenant partners - though tempted to quit when all hell broke loose and things seemed to be going from bad to worse - stuck it out in faith till the end. They lived by the adage: "Don't grow weary in well-doing, for in due season you shall reap if you don't lose your courage and relax and faint". Ultimately, by not quitting, being loyal to each other, developing closeness and compassion for one another, and being open to change, over time they eventually saw the "Goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" and partook of the "higher life" the Jesus promises to those who follow Him. A good land that is filled not only with success and victory, but significance, depth, and most importantly love.