Choose Your Story
We began this series on story by looking at God’s story and the anti-story. We discussed the story of the Israelites, their bondage in Egypt, the story they encountered there, and the mission God gave them as they came out of Egypt. But we left them before they got to the Promised Land.
The book of Joshua recounts the story of the Israelites from the time they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land and when they finished conquering the land. At the end of the book Joshua assembled the people for one final admonition before he died.
“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”[mfn]Joshua 24:14-15, NKJV[/mfn]
Joshua’s words can be boiled down to a single phrase: choose your story. The Israelites had lived in the midst of a horrible anti-story in Egypt. They had seen the power of God’s story as He brought them out of Egypt and led them in the wilderness for forty years, providing for their every need. But now they had to make a choice.
Write Your Script
“You either learn your way toward writing your own script in life, or you unwittingly become an actor in someone else’s script.” – John Taylor Gatto
It’s a choice each of us has to make, too. Like our spiritual ancestors, we’ve been born into the midst of a complex anti-story that bombards us at every turn. From cradle to grave we are fed a story that crushes creativity, squashes dreams, and turns us into little more than extras in someone else’s script.
But God designed us to be more than that. He’s writing a story, and He wants us to partner with Him in that story.
Remember the dreams you used to have as a child? Places you wanted to see; people you wanted to meet; things you wanted to do, invent, or achieve? They weren’t supposed to be tossed aside like an old shoe once “life experience” told you they were impractical. God gave you those passions, dreams, and desires for you to act upon.
Live Your Dream
“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” – John Barrymore
So go on. Though this is the end of the series, it’s the beginning of a grand new adventure!
Choose this day your story, and live your dream accordingly.
What’s your dream? What’s your story? And what’s one step you can take toward making it a reality? Find me on Twitter and let me know!