If Your Life Was a Movie - Would People Want to See It?

This question was posed in a message I heard many months ago by Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz). It got my attention...so much so, that I'm going to pose it tomorrow morning as I begin a series of revival meetings at Spring Branch Baptist Church outside of Bamberg, SC. Please be in prayer for me and the church as I'll be their guest preacher from Sunday through Wednesday night. Back to the question about your life and mine. Think about the great movies you've seen and/or books you've read. What do they have in common?

• A hero or heroine who you want to succeed at some noble quest or goal.
• Conflict to produce growth and/or transformation.
• Resolution where there is some meaningful closure to the story (be it comic, tragic, etc.).

Isn't it interesting that the Bible is not just a book of rules, regulations and commands, but that it also contains many stories...isn't that how God wants His truth displayed? Not merely in a bonded or genuine leather, thumb-indexed, gold-lettered inscribed book, but on display in our lives, as we become a living chapter in Christ's story of the redemption of man. We WILL experience conflict and pain, but the question is, will we meet it as opportunities to grow and be transformed into people of character, Christ's character. Will your story and mine result in the ultimate "resolution" as we stand before Christ and hear those words, "Well done thy good and faithful servant!"

The real danger is in trying to play life "safe." Who will be drawn to a life so afraid of risk that we never try anything? The best stories in the movies, in print, and in our churches are the stories where someone is willing to risk everything for something more valuable than his/her own life.

May we be a people who live outside our comfort zone, as God continues to invite us to leave our fear-filled, conflict-avoiding, never risking, stagnant lives behind so we can become a part of the greatest story ever written (and "being" written!)...HIS STORY...the story that will engage people, and draw people, and encourage people to know Him and become part of His story, too!