And Your Dance Will Dazzle the World..

How do you know if you are watching a good movie? Reading a good book? What makes a good story? A good story typically involves a character that wants something and overcame conflicts to get it. “Luke Skywalker was living a boring live in a dessert planet and he wants to have significance in his life. So he joined a rebellion against an evil empire, rescued the princess, fled from the evil empire, destroyed the Death Star and saved the planet.” That’s a story that inspires people, empowers people.

Have you ever sat through a movie which when the end credit rolled, you were saying: “so…, that’s it?? What’s the point??” and yet most people go through life like that. A story about someone working at a grocery store for few years just to save up to buy a used Volvo is not inspiring, at the end of the story when that man brought his savings to a Volvo dealership and drove his car out of the parking lot, that scene won’t brought tears in our eyes. All of us want to live a better story, we need a better story.

Christians sometime think that when we received Christ, that was the climax of their life. That’s not true. It’s only Act I, the Beginning of the story. Our life here on Earth is Act II of our story. Apostle Paul said it best:

“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:10-14)

Conflicts in life can be blessings. The bigger the conflicts the character overcame, the better the story, the more inspiring the story. We inherently hate conflicts, but God wants to teach us something in our conflict, don’t miss this. The sooner we learned, the sooner God will move us from that conflict. God can take that conflict and make something good out of it.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8: 28)
A story of someone who planted water filtration system in Africa despite the challenges is inspiring, a story of a worker stopping human trafficking brought a sense of relieve in our heart, a story of faithful wife who is taking care of her disabled husband to the end brought tears in our eyes, and a story of forgiveness of a betrayal makes us believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.
So live boldly, love boldly, and leave a good legacy.

The final act usually occurs a few minutes before the story ended. Luke blew up the Death Star, Rudy made the Notre Dame Football team, and Harry finally kissed Sally.
Act III, the Final Act of our story has been written. Our story will end with a wedding feast, with Jesus as the groom and the Church as the bride.
“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."” (Revelation 21: 2-4)

So I will close with this quote from Robert Mckee, he is not a theologian by any means, he’s actually an agnostic, but he said it beautifully.

"Write every day, line by line, page by page, hour by hour. Do this despite fear. For above all else, beyond imagination and skill, what the world asks of you is courage, courage to risk rejection, ridicule and failure. As you follow the quest for stories told with meaning and beauty, study thoughtfully, but write boldly. Then, like the hero of the fable, your dance will dazzle the world."

Inspired by Donald Miller at WCCC
Recommended readings:
“Blue Like Jazz”
“A Million Miles in a Thousand Years”