Every good book has a great title... the same could be said about one's life... If the title of your life is "Get money" or "Get sex" or "Be successful" and all that you did in your life was to pursue those primary superobjectives then what was a masterpiece crafted by God is turned into a tabloid magazine...
When we start recognizing that everyone is born with a great God given title and the chance to tell a great story then we will start living what one could call a "page-turning" life... There were times in my life where I can look back and believe that I was living life to the fullest... There were other times where my life looked more like a tabloid and less like a masterwork...
I've learned in my theatre studies that good stories and plots have conflict, something that propels the protagonist toward righting a wrong, to establish an equilibrium... to bring everything back into order.
Conflict resides in many aspects in life... big and small. Yet the beautiful truth for those who are Christ followers is that Christ already re-established the equilibrium... He has already righted all the wrongs... Christ stands as the mediator between God and man ready to forgive our sins if we would only believe, ask, and make the choice to live an obedient lifestyle...
So the real problems that we have in life are just echoes of the battle that was already won through Christ... That doesn't mean that they are diminished or that their effects are lessened, but that the eternal outcome of the life of those who follow Christ is rooted in the unchanging grace, mercy and forgiveness of Him...
Paul in Galations 5 called the root of our conflict "the flesh" or the carnal sinful nature of humanity both in yourself and in others... This flesh has all kinds of descriptions: "immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these" All of these are the roots of most conflict evident in the world today... It is when we allow ourselves to be overcome by the desires or will of our own flesh that our story stops being what God created it to be and turns into something twisted and dark... and that dark story not only effects us, but also others around you... That is why there are Hitler's and Stalin's in the world, why there are hate crimes and mass murders... why people have addictions and why the world is not in a state of utopia... the conflict inherent in sin... the flesh destroys our story...
The awesome thing is that God has the power to rewrite and rework our stories... we cannot change what we have done in the past and the responsibilities and consequences we have in our present and future... but what we can do is seek out and listen and learn from the Author of the universe... Allow God to write your story, follow after His leading... I know that when I have done that in my own life it has always been the best choice for me... sometimes it wasn't the most pleasant, but it has always been the best...
So start today, this minute, this second... begin the first few pen strokes of the rest of your life story... seek after God and make Him your guide and inspiration...
I hope this resonates with you like it has with me...
Blessings,
Sam
