The Plot: Part 02 The Purpose

Imagine with me for a moment that you witness an execution.  A man is brought out to the street where you work and is beaten nearly to death and then executed as a criminal. 

In any good story the plot must have purpose.  Once we become familiar enough with the characters we need to know their mission.  What is it that these characters need to accomplish.  Why is their task so important. 

Look at the story of Christ.  A lot of people have heard the stories about Him being crucified.  “He came and died so that you don’t have to.”  Is that the total truth?  Does a look at Jesus’ purpose here reveal that he came to die that we wouldn’t have to die?  John 10:10 tells that Jesus came that we could have life.  Interestingly this word life is the Greek word zoe.  It doesn’t just mean that we get to breath, think, walk, etc.  This word zoe is defined more closely as life as God intended it.  So Jesus is saying that He came that we could have life as God intended it.  This line of thinking is a lot deeper than Jesus simply died that we wouldn’t have to die.  Sure, a major piece of the salvation puzzle is that Jesus died.  But the purpose of His death was not merely so that you don’t die, but more specifically that you live. 

A friend of mine was hunting recently and shot a deer with a bow.  Gruesome as it may sound his goal was to ensure that the dear didn’t suffer anymore than necessary.  Now regardless of your views on hunting none of us would want an animal to just be wounded and left to die.  That however is what happened.  With a wound to the head the deer got up and ran off.  My friend began to try and track the deer, but hours later and with rain washing away the trail he did not find it. 

So how many are cheering right now?  Not many because we understand that this deer is suffering.  Sure the deer got away and seemingly for now has escaped death.  However, is that really the kind of story we all want to hear?  Most of understand that any wound, if the deer survives, will limit it’s quality of life.

Jesus did not die on a cross so that you would simply not have to die.  Instead He more specifically came so that you would have the opportunity to a great life.  The kind of life everyone wants.  Until you begin to discover the purposes of God your story will have no purpose and in the end you won’t understand the story.

Now let’s get back to the man executed in the street.  They said he was a criminal, but in reality he was falsely charged.  He did not resist the execution so that the real criminal would go free.  His death would keep them from finding the real criminal and making that person pay.  His only request was that the real criminal change the way they think and begin to truly LIVE.  That criminal was you.  Do you understand his purpose?

The Plot: Part 01 Character Development

Imagine with me for a moment that a man walks into a store and begins to load his pockets down with food.  He then tries to slip out of the store without paying for it.  The store owner sees him and begins to fight with him to get back the stolen food.

What are your initial thoughts?  Most would feel that the man didn’t have the right to steal the food and that the store owner was well within his rights to try and get it back.

I love stories.  My favorite teachers in college taught as story tellers.  These few teachers told history as a story.  One teacher in particular was great at this.  Brother Crabtree would have the entire class on the edge of their seat and then class would be over and he would just stop.  People would beg to hear the rest, but he always responded don’t miss the next class.  I think this type of learning is so good because it is enteresting and exciting.  

A great story form today is “the movie.”  I own lots of movies and we have some great family nights watching great movies.  Have you ever seen a bad movie though.  A poorly made movie is almost always one with a poor storyline or plot.  One aspect of a great plot is a great character.  Character development helps us better understand not only the fact that a person is doing something, but what drove them to it.  

Let me retell my story….

Imagine for a moment that man who was stealing the food was doing so because he and his family were starving.  In fact his wife had just died and he was left with three children to fend for.  This man wasn’t just stealing though to eat.  In fact for years he had owned his own farm and grew his own crop.  A group of men had come into town and began to force the people of the town to pay an extremely high tax to them in order to live there.  This group of men had no right to do this.  They were just stronger and better equipped than the towns people.  So in fact this man was fed up and had come to the store to steal what he felt was truelly his.  

So now how do you feel about the man stealing food?  What about the store owner?  With a better understanding of the characters involved we see the story differently.  

The same is true in the greatest story ever.  The story of God.  Most of us will live our lives knowing some truths, but never understanding them.  The confusion comes in to the picture when we don’t know the characters.  So who is God?  Just the creator of everything?  I could answer this question with a lot of scriptures about who God is, but you need to see Him for yourself.  God wants to reveal Himself to you.  Better understanding the character traits of God, the central character in the story, will help you to better interpret life.  

There is another character that needs some attention in this story and that is you.  Most of us feel like we’re good people and think that we’re doing what we should.  The problem is that we don’t want to really examine ourselves and understand our own character, because we won’t like what we find.  

Once we connect with the characters in the story we want sequels and TV shows about them.  We want more and more of them.  The same will be true of God.  The days of complacency will be gone and apathy will be no more when we understand the character of God as He moves in our lives.