Director and Star

So another one of those sermon thoughts that sticks with you long after the sermon is over.

In the course of discussing the Day of The Lord and what it would be like, he used an interesting analogy:  it is sort of (in a very weak way) like one's birthday, where everything about is about one for one day.  It will be like that, was the point: God will be the Star, and everything will be about Him on that day.  There will not be any question about why things are not about us, any more than we question why people are giving us gifts on our birthday.

The problem comes in our current lives, he pointed out.  We like to treat God as the Director of our lives:  He is the one setting up the circumstances and managing the people and scenes in our lives, but really we are the star of our own life.  It really is supposed to be all about us.  Or so we like to think.  Unfortunately (for me, at least) I have the entire thing not only reversed but upside down:  it is not an either/or for our lives.  God should be both the Director and the Star of our lives.

This is where it breaks down for me, of course:  if not the Director nor the Star of my own life, what am I?  The selfish ego me reaches out and cries  that I am no more than a spear carrier in a cast of thousands, a red shirt security guard in Star Trek who is going to be killed within the first thirty seconds of the episode - my job to demonstrate how this week's alien kills.

That is not the way it works in God's economy, of course.  In Matthew 6: 31-33 Jesus says:

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (NKJV)

In other words, God through Christ says "Yes, I am meant to be the star of your life.  Yes, I know it means that if you truly follow Me, you will feel like you are no longer paying attention to anything in your life that matters in your daily life.  In fact, you will probably feel like you are not doing anything for you at all.  But I will take care of you.  By making me the star, you glorify Me.  And I, in turn, will take care of you."

It sound wonderful in theory, but hard in practice.  There is nothing worse than constantly wondering why your plans do not work out, why your goals do not ever seem to get accomplished, why your ship never seems to come in.  

The reality is if your life is always about you, then everything that never works out and never comes to pass will seem like another impediment to the screenplay of your life.  If, on the other hand, you move aside and let the true Star of the show come forward, such things will fade into the background both of time and eternity - because with the Star in place as He was meant to be, the screenplay will suddenly go forward as it always should have.

And the Star has promised never to forget a single supporting actor or actress.