We have a God who invites us into a larger story.
I watched an incredible Copa America final the other night. Peru defeated Chile in penalty kicks. There was lots of emotion and celebrating after the game. One of the best Chilean players was interviewed by the U.S. TV channel after the game. He was interviewed in Spanish and then the reporter translated. I found it interesting what he didn’t translate. The Chilean player was asked “How does it feel and how did you guys pull it off?” After he responded, the reporter began translating his answer, relaying the determination they had and his belief in his teammates. But that’s not how the Chilean player started. The Chilean player thanked God and pointed to him as the reason he had the strength and ability to win. The American reporter decided not to include God in his translation.
This is an example of our continuing omission of God as part of the story. Even a trite shout-out is a recognition that we are not our own doing. Even the simplest mention of God still echoes a larger story beyond ourselves. The younger generation is in danger as the world continues to omit God from our lives. As God is known less and less in the West, we are filling the God gap in our lives with ourselves, with each other, with emotion, with false grandeur, or with other adrenaline rushes that rise and fall quicker and quicker. Postmodernism is to be blamed for this lack of trust in any metanarratives. Scholars say that people these days find a metanarrative (a larger story) oppressive and don’t want to placed in a certain box. But, what if the metanarrative was not oppressive? God’s story for us is freedom, but freedom within his creation and our acknowledged limitations.
In sports terms, what would you rather be doing?
Choice A
Would you rather be outside the stadium kicking a ball by yourself on a gravel road? There’s no one to play with. Everyone else is kicking their own ball on the gravel road 50 yards apart from each other. No one wants to play together. There are no teams and certainly no games going on. There are no goals. But each person invents his or her own fantasy. Each person is the superstar of each fantasy; each takes the penalty kick at the last second to win the game. But, when they look up, no one is there cheering and it is just individuals with their own ball.
This is what living without a metanarrative is like. You are free to be in control of your own destiny, but it’s completely empty. We can wear shirts that say “#AWESOME” or “ALWAYS MVP.” Just because you say something is true doesn’t mean it’s true.
Choice B
Now, what if you reached in your pocket and found a ticket that had been there the whole time. It was for a game that was going on in a stadium. Despite a desire to stay and play by yourself, you decide to go to the game. Instantly you are transported inside the stadium. Instead of a seat in the crowd, the coach is calling with excitement and passion for you to come participate in the game. He has a uniform for you that fits perfectly. The shoes are an exact match. He has a group of players ready to warm up with you. They are all happy to see you. In the stands you look up and see your grandparents, who haven’t been alive for several years. You see other people that look like your family. There are sections of the stadium for each century from history. Hundreds of thousands are cheering you on. Your coaches and teammates gather around in excitement. There is no fear about performing or coming through with your best stuff. You are known by all of them. You feel free, and you are ready to walk onto the field and be a star among stars.
This isn’t a perfectly accurate description of living in the Kingdom of God, but you get the point. We ARE part of a larger story. We are invited into it by the creator of the story. He has made us to be part of the story. We are meant to be in the story. Every attempt to live in our own story or some other false story will not feel true.