Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee … or Sam Winchester?

A single white male in his 50s … not what you expect as the lead in an all action cop show. But this is no ordinary man. This is Chuck Norris. I mean, guns carry Chuck Norris for protection. I mean, Chuck Norris … When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks under his bed for Chuck Norris. Norris got his film debut doing a climatic duel of fists, feet and force in Bruce Lee’s The Way of the Dragon. (He lost that scripted fight, but gained a training partner for years with Lee.)

So here he is, the lead role in Walker, Texas Ranger. I remember watching it with my dad once – and many times with my young son, a Dallas native. We looked for Dallas landmarks. We enjoyed the fighting. And for 8 years, the show got great viewership. And when it stopped production, it went out on top. Ranger Walker was a hero.

And now, the CW is bringing the show back – without Norris. Yeah, I realize that seems difficult to fathom. I mean who can take the place of Chuck Norris?

Enter Jason Padalecki. Better known as Sam Winchester from Supernatural. Okay, he’s has done some great fighting kicking the buttocks off of ghosts, demons, vampires, demigods, and multiple scary entities … but now he’s taking on Chuck Norris. At 37, he is younger than Norris was at filming, but he will need the youthful years just to keep up with Norris’s fame. I hope it is successful. We will see.

I am already looking forward to it. Disappointed that they set Austin as the location, but I will live.

So, I believe the lessons we can learn here are powerful and practical.

• God is always at work, doing new and fresh acts of Kingdom work in the lives of His people. Our lives are constantly refreshed. We shouldn’t look back to live in the highs or to be trapped in the lows, but must press on to the upward calling of a Jesus. What is God doing fresh in your life?
• We all have role models, people we admire and even desire to be like. Norris, and the role he played, Walker, are great role models for kids and adults alike. They are honest, love God, caring, physically fit, etc. The new series is a reboot, not a sequel … and it is the highest form of flattery to be imitated (so, they say). I hope the new series keeps Walker as a man of integrity that inspires a new generation of viewers. Who are you imitating? Me? I wanna be like Jesus (and as good as Norris/Walker are, they are way behind Him in the race.)

And finally, in this crazy political world, I think a better TV show would be “Chuck Norris for President!” I’d probably vote for that. I mean, if Norris was President – ISIS would be waswas.