I recently watched the trilogy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings once again. I love seeing Sam and Frodo as they live through many adventures far away from their comfortable hobbit holes, both wonders and dangers. They’ve fought a battle on Weathertop, seen the beauty of Rivendell, the dark mines of Moria and then, as they are standing in the long shadow of Mordor, Sam asks a question,
I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?
He assumes there is a story. Something larger has been going on before they ever arrived and they have somehow tumbled into it. Sam and Frodo know they aren’t the authors of their story, because there has been a lineage of people who have gone before them, and they are honored – yet a little fearful – to be playing their unique roles in this same story.
It may benefit us all if we were to ask that very question of ourselves,
What sort of tale have I fallen into?
If we don’t know our purpose, the reason we are living on this earth, if we think we’re an accident, then we will flounder our way through life. As Neil Postman writes about the scientific view to which many people hold:
In the end, science does not supply the answers most of us require.
Its story of our origins and our end is, to say the least, unsatisfactory.
To the question `How did it all begin?’, science answers,
`Probably by an accident.’ To the question, `How will it all end?’
Science answers, `Probably by an accident.’ And to many people,
The accidental life is not worth living. (Science and the Story we Need)
If we think our life is an accident, we may conclude that we are the author of our own story. Yet a simple fact remains: we have no control over tomorrow, today, or even this moment. Thinking we are our own author brings more stress and anxiety than any human is capable of bearing. Seeking to figure out why everything happens in a day plus worrying about tomorrow puts us in a never-ending Ring around the rosy chase in our mind. Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down…
Because you were fashioned by a Creator who placed you in the story you are now living, you do have a part to play in this story on earth. Remember Frodo never planned to be caught up in the epic story of The Lord of the Rings, but there he was, born into a story having many chapters played out before his own. And because he was willing to take his place in the story already started, he was ready to meet the challenges set before him along with the other hobbits in his fellowship.
When we know the Author of our story, and the simple fact that there is a larger story into which we have been born, we find that we do have a purpose. We exist because Jesus dreamt us up. When God, the Author of our story, created people, He made us in His image on purpose. Because we can be certain of the fact that our birth wasn’t an accident, we can freely move forward and seek out what our purpose is – by simply asking the Author of the Grand Story.
Remember – the battle right now is for the narrative; who gets to frame the story for you? Either it will be God, or someone else.
John Eldredge
If we allow our society to frame our story, we are expected to figure out many questions on our own:
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What is my purpose?
Where am I going?
Was I born into the wrong body?
Am I just an accident?
But if you allow God to frame your story, He assures you that He created your inmost being, He knit you together in your mother’s womb. Body, soul, and spirit, you are marvelously made and have been sculpted into a person of value. He loves you and has a purpose for your life if you choose to ask Him. You are not an accident, and if invited He will show you your part in His Story.
Unfortunately, many children and teenagers today are being taught in school and on social media that they are not part of a bigger story, therefore they are required to create a story of their own – from ground zero. When a child has nothing absolute in their life, confusion reigns in every area of their life.
Knowing that Jesus is the Author of your story brings peace and assurance, takes a lot of pressure off your mind, and you may even find joy in the process.
Charity Gayle, one of my current favorite singers has an amazing song, New Name Written Down In Glory, with a line that goes,
I’ve met the Author of my story, and He’s mine…
I am who I am because the I AM tells me who I am….
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