Seeing How God Does It
Taking a Lesson From the Master Writer
Being a humble writer myself, I love stepping back to look at the big picture of the Master Author from time to time. It inspires me, teaches me about the craft of storytelling. It grounds me, helping me realize that I'm just playing a very small part in the course of an epic drama. It helps me see that storytelling unfolds. The characters themselves offer twists in the story line through the course of the book.
A few tiny verses in I Chronicles 10 describe three fateful days in the life of God's people. Just three days; three days that changed the course of history over a couple thousand years. Wow.
When Reheboam's greed separated the Israelites into two nations, he served as a character initiating a verrrry long conflict into the story of God's redemption. His role in the developing plot didn't surprise God, who is still the Author and Finisher of our faith, but I wonder: Did Reheboam have any idea what he set in motion during those three days? I think he lived in the same veil of darkness we suffer through today.
That veil of darkness makes everything seem murky. We aren't sure what the Master Author is doing, and while we want to be good little protagonists, we wander through our chapter in the book with lots of scribbling spirals rather than a straight line from start of days to our character's demise. That feels tragic to me, until I realize that I'm in the hands of the Master Author. He is the one actually writing this opus, and when I let Him guide the pen, it unravels the scribbles my own actions create.
We now find ourselves many, many pages later in the story and hopefully caught up in the pending climax of God's opus. At this point in the story, the writer in me is asking three questions:
1. Where are we, exactly, in the story line?
2. Who is really writing the story? I mean, shouldn't I let God be God?
3. As I participate, where do I want my character to end up?
Jesus sees it all. As I come to understand His plot and fumble with my lines, I want to be content in my role. I may be an insignificant character in this epic romance between God and His people, but as long as I am a faithful character, I am content with my small part in the book. I'm looking forward to the Master Author's denouement in these last days and think it will be interesting to see what my character contributes in its final gasp. On to the finish line. I rather imagine no earthly author will ever type The End with as much relief as the Master Author who is still laboring over His masterpieces.