Emptied Out
Life. We strive, grow, fight, love, break, laugh, and simply experience life moment by moment. All these moments that make up life, the combination of both good and bad. At times this seems to be all that is ever needed.
But we still find ourselves asking just a little deeper of a question. Is there a real meaning behind all these moments? Why does this planet keep spinning? Will my life make a difference? Does it even matter if I do? With the questions piling up, we find ourselves emptied out of all that once filled us up. All that once was enough.
The Backdrop
Is there a real meaning in the backdrop of this play called life? There are great things to devote our lives to from scene to scene. Relationships, justice, adventure, growth, just a few for namesake. But with all of us, death is a reality. If these things are the meaning of the backdrop of our lives, then the play has an ending. This is the hushed secret in the crowd, known by everybody and acknowledged by few. What is it that makes it important to try and live a life to the utmost? To develop that lead role that we all play in our own lives. Is there really any reason why it is better to live one way over another?
If we start looking for answers, we are bombarded with different worldviews and beliefs that give us each a different meaning to the dialogue of this life. Each response can feel like it has a portion of the answer, and we soon find ourselves muddied in thought, thinking and wishing that everyone could be right. That this is a choose your own story and the meaning is what we choose to write it as. But we are not the playwright, but the ones born to play the parts. We cannot change the meaning of the story, only ourselves within it. We must see the part as it was meant to be played.
The Heart Of The Story
It is all too easy to write words with a style that goes down smooth, but ever harder to attach something worthwhile to go along with it. Words for words sake are just a hollow shell. Without a deeper meaning to written words, they become only a ringing in the ears with no reason to respond. They so easily fall apart, scattered amongst themselves. All I can do is share the heart behind why these words are placed here. A script of my own characters dialogue.
To put it simply, Jesus Christ is the heart of the story. It is because of Him that our stories beat with meaning. Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came down to earth itself and died for our sins. He is the playwright of the story, who chose to come down to the stage himself and play a part none of us could play. To save us from an antagonist of sin. The antagonist that plagues us with brokenness and pain. Sabotaging each act, from the first to the last.
Each one of our characters was written to live this life to the fullest. But we are not written statically into our role. We write it every day. But it was never written to be a tragedy. The final curtain call was never intended.
I am not going to write all the details of the story the way it was meant to be told, but simply show you where to start. Where to start truly living life to the utmost in this play of life.
Play The Role
The Bible states two simple lines that show us the status of our characters:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
“For ‘all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”.
With sin, we changed our roles, but with Jesus he recast us into a part we did not deserve. When he chose to play his part, our character was brought back to life. To a role once lost. But this role is not something to be taken flippantly and without caution. This is a role change and a drastic one. When we call upon Jesus, he asks us to follow. He asks us to take the role back and live it the way the role was designed.
There is a reason to become this version of yourself. You were not just dropped onto this planet, in constant spin within the cosmos, for no reason. You were made with the role written into your DNA. It’s a beating we all feel within our chest. It is a role that only you can play, with no backups to play your part. There is someone who knows why you were cast into the play of your life and how to play it.
So, when the excitement of this scene of life seems to dim and fade. When all of those moments don’t seem meaningful enough. When the stage gives you no reason for the scene. What will you do with your part?
Life, keep it simple and live it
Josh
Where to start? Pick up a Bible or download the YouVersion Bible App and read the book of Mark. Find out who Jesus is and what He said about you.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” – John 3:16
“For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’.”- Romans 10:13
Photo by John Peters on Unsplash