In a darkly lit room just past midnight, the Author sits bent over a blank page, scribbling with a fervor that cannot be quenched, pouring creativity and life and story onto the page before the vision, before the moment has passed. Characters and plot spill forth from the creative recesses of the Author’s mind, a villain rises and falls, as the story moves rapidly to a conclusion, to a happily-ever-after that will stun and motivate its readers to live a different kind of life, to live in grand expectation, to live more nobly and in a sense, more like the characters in the story … But will they? Will they read the masterful story the author writes? Will they be changed by it? Will they internalize the truths and lessons woven into the characters’ lives? That is not the author’s concern at that moment … For now, he is just writing.
Admit it. When you’ve thought of authors before, there is a part of you that has envisioned something like this – an author poring over their work in the middle of the night, imagining up worlds hitherto unknown, weaving mystery and destiny into an epic work of fiction that will delight and challenge and captivate its readers, writing frantically lest the creative genius expire and the work lie half-finished into oblivion. I know I certainly have; even as a child, when I dreamt of becoming an author myself, I always pictured myself writing late at night, writing like this, writing with a crazed passion, like one possessed with the urge to write. And perhaps that’s why my heart is so captivated and intrigued by the Bible’s recurring indication that our God is an Author. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look unto Jesus, who is the “Author and Finisher” of our faith, the one who first conceived of it, dreamed and fashioned it into being, and finished it in the happily-ever-aftering that is eternal life with God. Psalm 139:16 tells us that before we were even born, God had written a book, an epic depiction of our lives, chronicling how we would spend each and every day nobly living for the Kingdom of God (at least, I’m pretty sure the book He’s written about us omits the mindless routine we so often allow ourselves to be trapped in, and instead chronicles the divine potential we carry with us into everyday life; I imagine His book chronicles the potential we have for living an extraordinary life for His glory, and only after we choose to live it in stagnancy does He reluctantly edit it to reflect what we have actually done with the potential He poured into us). And, for further proof that God is an Author, writing books about our lives, check out Malachi 3:16, which in the God’s Word Translation says, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord paid attention and listened. A book of remembrance was written in His presence to be a reminder to those who feared the Lord and respected his name.” Our God is even writing books about the conversations we’re having with other Christians, chronicling the words of faith we speak to encourage each other and glorify our God! Isn’t that a remarkable thought?
John Eldredge, in his book Epic, writes about this creative facet of God’s character. He writes on pages 14-15 that:
“Christianity, in its true form, tells us that there is an Author and that he is good, the essence of all that is good and beautiful and true, for he is the source of all these things. It tells us that he has set our hearts’ longings within us, for he has made us to live in an Epic. It warns that the truth is always in danger of being twisted and corrupted and stolen from us because there is a Villain in the Story who hates our hearts and wants to destroy us. It calls us up into a Story that is truer and deeper than any other, and assures us that there we will find the meaning of our lives.”
But perhaps you’re wondering why I’m going on about this. Perhaps you’re wondering why I’m so excited about this. Perhaps you’re wondering what knowing God as the Author and Finisher of our lives could possibly teach us, how it could change our perspective, our life, or our purpose in passionately living out each day for the Kingdom of God. And to be honest, for a thorough answer, I would refer you to the book I just quoted. But, for a quick answer, I give you the following truths.
Truth #1: Truly great authors don’t write the same thing twice and rarely craft a tale you would expect. I mean, think about it. Who (other than those hopelessly addicted to romance novels), enjoy reading the same plot over and over again? The vast majority of us would prefer some kind of variety and excitement. We crave something different than we’ve experienced or imagined before. Likewise, while certain aspects of the ending may be sure (that it will be happy, for example), it seems there is always an element of surprise in how it comes about. Somewhere in the midst of the story is a delicious twist, an element of surprise. The culprit isn’t who you expected and anticipated it would be. Or, perhaps, one of the heroes’ closest friends turns out to be a scoundrel in disguise, working for the enemy. People and things are not as they seem – and you, as part of the audience, were caught entirely unaware. Likewise, God – whose infinite creativity brought into existence more species than we could possibly number or imagine – will not script the same story twice; so quit asking Him to make your life just like someone else’s! He won’t! After all, Isaiah 43:19 tells us that God is doing a new thing, and 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that in Christ we are new creations – something that has never existed before. Why would our lives be exactly as someone else’s? Further confirming this notion, the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines an “author” as: “one who produces, creates, or brings into being.” It is a creative process. As God writes our life story, the story of our faith and our great deeds upon the earth, He creatively weaves our talents and abilities into His greater purposes in a way that is unique to us. He utilizes every moment to mold our hearts, our goals, our passions into what He can use best to accomplish His plan; He uses us to fulfill His plan in a way that no one else can. Our lives may not play out as we expect; the ending may look far different than we could have imagined – but we have the promise of Heaven (John 14:2-3), the promise that He will not forsake us (Matthew 28:20), and the promise that His plans are always for our good (Jeremiah 29:11). And we can hang our lives on these promises.
Truth #2: The main character’s life is not boring. Who would really want to watch a two hour movie about someone going to work every day for eight to ten hours, coming home, sitting in front of the television, going to bed, and getting up to do it all over again the next day – without any element of adventure? Who would want to read two hundred pages of a book about it? And yet how often do we settle for that – when the God who created white water rapids is the author of our very existence? How often do we get sucked into that kind of a boring routine, feeling trapped and unfulfilled? An author wouldn’t write about that kind of a life and neither does God! From His creative genius come the adventurous battle scenes of King David’s life and that of his mighty men (like Benaiah who fought a lion in a pit on a snowy day and won), the drama filled days of Joseph betrayed and sold and wrongfully accused before his happily-ever-after finally arrived, and the daring life-preserving work of women like Shiphrah and Puah (Exodus 1:15-20) who did their part to stop the genocidal plans of the Pharaoh. God is not an author of “boring,” “same-old, same-old,” or anything like that. Daniel 11:32 tells us that, “The people who know their God shall be steadfast and will accomplish notable feats” (N. Berkeley translation). Psalm 108:13, in the same translation, says, “With God we shall do valiantly …” The Living Bible says we will perform “mighty acts of valor.” 2 Timothy 1:7 in the Knox translation says, “The Spirit He has bestowed on me is not one that shrinks from danger; it is a spirit of action, of love, and of discipline.” Romans 8:15 in the Message paraphrase says that the life we have received from God is “adventurously expectant.” John 14:12 tells us that all who believe in Christ will do the same things He did, and even greater things! Do you see the kind of ridiculous adventure that God has scripted for you? The life of risk and adventure for the sake of the Gospel? Do you understand the hope to which He has called you? In the novel He has written about your life, in the pages of divine potential He sees in you, are innumerable adventures you have doubtless never even imagined at this point! Your meager expectations of the Christian life are all that are holding you back from experiencing the true adventure He has designed for you. Don’t be duped into thinking that the Author has planned for your life to be boring, safe, quiet and unimportant.
Truth #3: There will be obstacles to overcome. After all, without a climax, without a battle or a problem to be conquered, the story is boring. The main character’s character remains untested and never has the opportunity to rise to the extraordinary heights to which it might otherwise have developed. Granted, with such testing, some will inevitably choose the easiest way out, disintegrating into cowardice, indifference, and other hideous character flaws. Likewise, Jesus assures us that our lives will be filled with climactic moments in which our true character will be revealed. In fact, in John 16:33, He tells us that we will have trouble, affliction, trials, and tribulations. But, in the same breath, He tells us to “keep up your courage: I have won the victory over the world” (WNT). In the midst of struggles and challenges, we must acknowledge that God isn’t sending them into our lives to punish us (no more than author places climactic moments in a book to punish their characters), but to provide us the opportunities to grow and rise to a heroic level of faith. Look at Romans 5:3-4, in the Lovett Translation, which say, “Not only do we rejoice in these benefits, but we also rejoice in our trials and tribulations. After all, they build up our endurance. When a person has patiently endured, it is proof that his faith is firmly fixed in God. Tested faith is the real ground of a man’s hope. No one is truly confident until his faith has been tested.” Which leads us to the final point about knowing God as our Author …
Truth #4: The ending will be worth it. What’s the ending we’ll experience? On this earth, who knows! But the end of the story for Christians is Heaven! A place where we are assured that “He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain,” a place that is “filled with the glory of God, and flashes like a precious gem,” a place where the “gates never close; they stay open all day long – and there is no night … [where] nothing evil will be permitted in it – no one immoral or dishonest – but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of life …” (Revelation 21:4,11,25-26). The ending for us takes place in God’s Holy City, where “a river of pure Water of Life, clear as crystal, [is] flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew Trees of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month; the leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations …” (Revelation 22:1-2). Could anything be greater? Could any happily-ever-after be greater? Could any Author provide a happier ending for their characters? Certainly not! Freedom from pain, living a life of worship to our God who makes His home with us … what a glorious ending we have to look forward to!
So, now that we’ve looked at the truths we can cherish about knowing God as our Author and Finisher, what does Hebrews 12 encourage us to do? To keep our eyes on Him. The Author and Finisher of our Faith was “willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterwards; and now he sits in the place of honor by the throne of God. If you want to keep from becoming fainthearted and weary, think about his patience as sinful men did such terrible things to him …” Yes, my friends, I encourage you to think about the Author and Finisher of your faith, and when you are feeling discouraged, remember the joy of the “happily-ever-after” He’s scripted for you. It will fill your heart with courage, give you hope, and tickle your imagination with the possibilities God has chronicled for you in His book.
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