Blog 2: What on Earth Am I Here For?
Everyone has a metaphor for their life. Some imagine their life as a race that must be won or a trip that must be carefully navigated or even a circus that is designed to entertain.
I confess I've imagined my life a bit like one of those books written with multiple plots and I'm not really an active player in the thick of the story. I'm more of a bit player being pushed around by greater forces. I've been lost in the plot. If we were living in a sitcom, I could be written out of any episode and nobody would really miss me. You know the type, the quirky neighbor who makes occasional comments that could really be better made by some other character....the first guy to get the ax when times get tough and the ratings are sagging.
Gratefully, life is not a pop-up book. Instead, of course, life is preparation for eternity: a sort of skill-building exercise with different assessments and achievements built into a plan to achieve eternal success. If we pass the test we move to the next grade, otherwise we have to stay behind until we are ready to move ahead. The rewards are, to put it plainly, out of this world!
A few years ago I had a positive spiritual encounter that reminded me that when God looks out over his vast kingdom that I am not a mere speck lost in the cosmos. None of us are really. Yet previously I had imagined my chameleon-like ability to blend into the background, unseen except by intense inspection. You don't merely just blink to miss me, you really wouldn't even know where to start looking. Unlike Waldo, most folks wouldn't really care to look. That is until God found me. He finds me every time. He knows all my tricks. God is a great one for games, but let's be honest: only a fool plays hide and seek with the Omnipresent. There is no escaping God, so why do we try so hard to do so?
My Heavenly Father actually cares for me and even has a plan for me to be involved in his story. God's own story is one in which I am an active player. I not only get to go on stage with the King, I actually have lines! There are plot points that pivot around me. I have responsibility not to let any of my fellow cast members down. I have to prepare, rehearse, work hard, train, and respect my fellow actors. We get a chance to get this right every night in front of a live audience who are sometimes enthusiastic but often downright hostile. Whether or not the audience applauds or casts tomatoes, it is the Patron of the Show whose opinion counts the most. Will he ignore us or worse rebuke us for a shoddy performance? Frankly, he can close down the show at any time because it's his show. He's the author, producer, director and backer! Not to mention the fact that the Author of the Story has created an intensely autobiographical work. The play itself is really all about him if you stand back and pay attention to the whole plot. And to think sometimes us foolish actors think its all about us!
What we really and deeply want is for the Patron of our Show to come back stage and slap us on the back and say "Bravo" and "Well done" and "Keep up the good work." These words are like food to us starving artists. With them we are nourished and able to set foot on stage again and again.
Good thing! The show must go on and God only knows when the curtain will close.