The Story - Characters

Sometimes when I don't have much schoolwork to do(and sometimes when I do), I like to walk to this place called Corner Coffee. These outings combine two of my favorite things; walking and coffee. One of the best things about Corner Coffee is that there are all kinds of people who frequent the place. At Corner Coffee, I've seen students, artists, lovers, coffee folk, scholars, friends, family, talkers, and loners, all flowing in and out and side to side. When you sit back in a chair and watch it all happen for a while(depending on the day and hour "a while" could be anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour), you start to get this amorphous feeling of home. Deep in my gut I always get this twinge of family.

There's no way I go to Corner Coffee enough to be considered family(unless I'm counted as some kind of zany uncle who stops by for Christmas). But that's alright. I go for the people. Well... the coffee too, but I'll talk about why that's important later.

Something as formal as a blog requires an introduction. My name is Matt Culler. I live and go to classes at a place called Shippensburg University. I live out my life in a stream of narrative, every step I take is the next letter written on the page; the words I speak are ink that falls from my mouth onto the leaf. Recently, I've discovered writing and how good it is. I believe in the power of stories.

I've come to see Yahweh as a God of stories. He wrote the Bible, which is a book of stories, and He's writing a story for my life and your life. These stories that God is writing are never just about me. That would be boring, and God is not boring. Each one has a diverse cast of characters. God loves characters.

Let me cut to the chase; I love people. I've found that the more I give God the pen, the more He writes my story in a way that draws me to people, and the more I interact with the other characters, the more I love them. At Shippensburg I have two majors, Psychology and Sociology. I study people and how they interact with each other. I came to Shippensburg as a computer science major. Why I am now a Psychology and Sociology major, I don't know. But I do know that when I gave God the pen after coming to college, He wanted me to learn about people. His story is so different than the one I would have written for myself. But it's so much better. My stories are great because of the people I've come to know.

In the book of Matthew(my favorite book about Jesus), a whole bunch of religious leaders are talking to Jesus about which law was the most important law to keep. Usually, Jesus responds to questions like this with some kind of story(God loves stories) or just another question. This time though, Jesus cuts straight to the point. He replies to them, "Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind."(Deuteronomy 6:5) But Jesus doesn't stop there, He goes right on ahead and rolls out commandment number 2! "Love your neighbor like you love yourself." (Leviticus 19:18) Love God first. Love people second.

What would Lord of The Rings look like if it was just a story about a short guy who threw a ring into a volcano. Maybe a bit exciting...but what about Sam? What about Aragorn? What about Legolas? What about Gimley and Merry and Pippin? These characters and their interactions with Frodo and each other are what made the story great.

We're called to love people. Every kind of people. Jesus even says later to love the people that wrong us. It's not easy to love people sometimes, but think of how many opportunities you have! Your story is probably full of characters you've encountered, and if you've given God the pen, I know for sure it is. So love them. Go places with them. Do things with them. Listen to their stories.

Being at Shippensburg has taught me about people. Formally by studying Psychology and Sociology, but informally too as I live and thrive with the campus. The quickest way to fall in love with people is to live among them. If I've learned anything from being here, it's that we need each other. Your story, and my story, and everyone else's story all come together to make one big story God is writing about Him and us. So it makes sense then. First we need God, then we need people. When it all comes together, it makes for some really good stories.

So, I go to Corner Coffee and feel a little sense of home. I look at people and imagine their stories. I think of the places they've been and the people they've been with. And now they're here. Somehow we're all there together, living our stories in the same location, if only for a little while. Then they're out the door again, off to the next interaction, the next sentence of their story being written. I'll stay a bit longer, relishing in the midst of the conversations and interactions. But soon I'll walk out the front door, back into a whole world of people doing stuff. Singing songs, dreaming dreams, living lives, and seeking seeking seeking.

We're all part of the Story.