A Page in God’s Story
The first of the year is a great time for reflection on big questions. What am I doing? What am I here for? What is my purpose? What is my life about?
In our culture today, one struggle we have in answering that question is a basic American assumption. We assume we have the absolute freedom to do more or less of whatever we want and thereby choose what our lives are about. First of all, that scenario is exhausting. We believe we have an infinite number of choices, so we are exhausted by the search for meaning or fearful that we have chosen the wrong one.
Secondly, the assumption is just false. Several years ago in a popular essay, theologian Stanley Hauerwas wrote that America is “producing a people who believe that they should have no story, except the story that they chose when they had no story.” Americans believe that the most important right is our choice. As long as you freely choose it, it's good for you, and the rest of us are supposed to approve of it because it was your choice. We applaud any exercise of absolute, untethered freedom and individuality.
I believe that we have a lot of freedom and choice, but something is going on before we ask the question about life’s purpose, and there will be something going on when you're done asking that question.
We are part of an ongoing story.
The church in Ephesus was having a similar conversation in the first century. Theirs was a question of identity. Not so much on the question: “What is our purpose?” Rather, the focus is on the question: “Who are we?” Jewish believers in Jesus brought with them one identity, and the Gentiles brought another. Could there ever be an “us” - a shared identity of these two disparate factions? Paul answers the question with an appeal to the structure of an ongoing story.
In the beginning of his letter, Paul says this: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:3-4). Paul starts by speaking about God rather than us. You will never answer the question of life’s purpose by beginning with yourself. God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has blessed us in ways profound and unimaginable through his Son, Jesus Christ. More importantly, all of this began with his choice “before the foundation of the world.” Before the universe was given shape and the stars spread across the heavens, the story that leads to you was taking shape. Before an atom moved, the plot was being written, and God had something in mind. Yes, it relates to you, but it isn’t all about you.
Paul continues: “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:5-16). Notice that God’s prior action is in love. God is not a tyrant, a sinister puppeteer subjecting you to cruel slavery. He is writing a story of love.
Predestination is mentioned here, and I suppose there is not a less popular or more debated word in Christian thought. The idea that somebody decided before you had a choice is terrifying to a freedom-enthralled people. I don't know if I am even capable of explaining comprehensively what the Bible means by predestination. To what degree has the story been written? Did he sketch a plot? Did God decide I was going to wear this cardigan today? It is hard to say, but what is not debatable is that God determined the ending of the story before I began. The destination is set. I believe that I get some say in how it works out in my life. But in the big picture, God was writing with ink that was drying before I was ever born.
The metaphor for God’s predestined will is “adoption,” a reference to a family relationship. This is a perfect comparison, but family is a reminder that our story does not begin with our free choices as an adult. You do not pick your parents. You do not choose your own name. You do not select your genetic predispositions from a menu. You have not chosen your nationality or ethnicity. Families tell a story that you don't get to pick. Love them or loath them, your family was not your choice.
Of course, a story is more than just a beginning. It has a middle and an ending. Likewise, the story God is writing exists in the present tense. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight” (Ephesians 1:7-8). We are somewhere in the middle of the story, which means the plot is ongoing. What makes a plot worth reading is that not every problem is immediately resolved, and yet some crisis is moving toward its resolution. Likewise, in God’s story, there is much more to come than we see now, but already we have present-tense redemption in Christ and enjoy lavish blessings already bestowed. This reminder rejects our tendency to tell the story only in the future tense. Yes, there is more to come, but already there is so much! Yes, in this life we have our struggles, but every forgiven breath is a reminder that the story is already well underway! God is even now making known the mystery of his will according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ” (Ephesians 1:9).
At the risk of repetition, notice again that God’s purpose is “set forth in Christ.” Jesus is the main character of God’s story. I am blessed to be asked to participate in a page or two of the greatest of all stories, but it has never been about me. This story is about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, redeeming the world. The things I do matter, and I do get some choices about my page. On my page, it will either say, “Ben did something that brought a little more of the glory that his redeeming story was all about.” Or it will say, “Ben thought this book was about him, and so this page is very sad.”
When you think of the story in that way, it can be quite a relief. I am not responsible for outlining the story from the beginning. I am not responsible for making everything right in the end. My responsibility is one page, a page that will be turned to the next as the story goes.
And yes, the story goes on toward its glorious end. “As a plan for the fullness of times to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). A story about me would be rather small and petty. God’s story is larger - the largest! It isn’t less than my life, but it is so much more! In the fullness of times when everything's finished, it's going to encompass heaven, earth, and everything God has done from beginning to end.
You have a page worth of work to do before the final chapter. You will contribute something, and it will matter. But never forget your page must be part of the larger story. And as Billy Graham is supposed to have said, “I've read the last page of the Bible; it’s all going to turn out alright.”
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:11-12).
Dr. Benjamin Williams is the Senior Minister at the Central Church of Christ in Ada, Oklahoma and a regular writer at So We Speak. Check out his books The Faith of John’s Gospel and Why We Stayed or follow him on Twitter, @Benpreachin.
