Think about it, Keanu is a flaky surfer dude that seems to be pretty clueless most of the time. Is that not the exact character he plays in The Matrix? Johnny Mneumonic? The Replacements? Probably the best example, though, is Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
That film is fantastic for so many reasons. Rumor has it, in fact, that they are working on another sequel. Not sure how a middle-aged Bill and Ted would fare without a phone booth, but I'd love to find out.
Anyway, there is one line from the first Bill and Ted movie that still sticks out in my brain, and it is a great motto for ministry. “Be excellent to each other.”
That is more than being nice to each other. That is more than working hard for one another. According to this book I found called a “Thesaurus,” excellent is synonymous with superior and perfect.
How often do you offer others superior treatment? When you serve and love them, are you really seeking perfection? All too often, we seek satisfaction or even just completion.
But if we are truly being excellent to one another, we will be doing things more like Jesus did. We will be sacrificing our time and reputations. We will be seeking to meet tangible needs in our communities. We might even figure out what love really means. And if we can find a way to remove our selfishness from the situation, people may even be able to catch a glimpse of Christ when they see us seeking excellence.
What kind of movie would we end up with if a camera followed you around for a few days? Would we get a sequel to Pay it Forward or maybe a remake of Field of Dreams? Yes, I said Field of Dreams. He built a baseball field because a whisper told him to do so. That is a great lesson about faith.
As much as most of the movie is absurd, why not squeeze a little bit of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure into your everyday. Try being excellent to others. You never know, you might just get excellence in return.