I'm one of those crazy people that thinks they are a part of something bigger than themselves. I think there is more going on in the world than 6.5 billion people making individual choices that only affect the people right next to them.
On the contrary, I imagine that we are all part of one story, and the Author is directing the characters (us) in a certain direction to accomplish a particular goal. A lot of people wince when they hear themselves called a "character". Our pride is hurt a little bit. We feel used and not in control of our own lives. And I think both those things are true, but not in a negative sense.
When an author introduces a character in a story, that character has a purpose. The rest of the story can't move forward, at least not the way the author wants it to, unless that character fulfills his purpose.
Jesus was a character. In the story of humanity, the Author needed to introduce a character who would enter the world and provide a way for broken people to move forward, out of their self-destructive ways and into something better.
Right before his crucifixion, Jesus said this to God, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." In another translation, it reads this way, "I glorified you on earth, by completing down to the last detail what you assigned me to do."
If Jesus had been too prideful to be another "pawn" in God's story, he might've refused to do what the Author wanted him to. The results would've been catastrophic for you and me. The story would not have moved forward. God would not have been glorified.
After I read that verse, I began to wonder about myself. What's the work God gave me to complete on this earth? Am I trying to complete it down to the last detail? Or am I only putting forth half the effort I am capable of? And what will the results be if I refuse to do that which the Author has told me to do? Maybe the results will be catastrophic. At the very least, I bet the story will not move forward, not how the Author wants it to, anyway.
Most importantly, God won't be glorified.
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1 comment:
Your not playing the part God gave you and my not playing the part God gave me will have catastrophic results at least for the people we love and who love us. I'm sure it could be catastrophic in other ways as well.
Thanks for the reminder of that and for the picture of us as characters in God's book.
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