We live for the end of a movie. Something in us longs for closure. Sequels are rarely satisfying because the anxiety it brings of an unfinished story. Is it really over? We sit in darkened theaters, frozen from the world outside, and try to figure the fate of the characters. “Is he really dead?” “Was it all a dream?” “Will they defuse the bomb in time?”
I’ve been thinking of this cinematic outlook and how it relates to the lives we live. Sometimes we are too caught up with the end of our own story and forget that it will never be a finished product this side of heaven. The harmful effect of this is when we speak from a place of completion. The Church is notorious for this. We are so desperate for life change, we coax people to tell their “testimony” as a work completed. How many times do we get frustrated when someone then falls away from what we view their life as being? Sometimes, progress looks like a step backwards.
Today, your story is not over. Each day you are writing a narrative that makes Hollywood appear boring. But it is a process. Today fails to have the ultimate say in your life and story. You have completion in your character, yet not in your narrative. Yesterday mattered, but it’s over now. Today is all we have and today our story continues. Write a better story.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, (Philippians 3:13)
Matt simon blog 