The Story - Plot

I've been to Atlanta, Georgia two times in my life. The first time I went, I had just started writing, and was about the equivalent of a bone dry mop being thrown in a swimming pool. When you pulled me out, I was sopping wet with life and love, still thousands of gallons left for me to consume. I wrote every day, page upon page. I wrote names and places and thoughts and feelings and prayers. Atlanta trip #1 was where I discovered story.

While in Atlanta our group worked with an organization called SafeHouse Outreach. SafeHouse is a ministry that attempts to be the hands and feet of Christ to people on the streets. They work with churches and organizations throughout Atlanta to provide the gospel, food, addresses, and generally love to those who need these things. Their motto is "Sho Love." When volunteering with SafeHouse, this is what we did. We met tons of people, talked to them, prayed with them, ate with them, became friends with them, listened to their incredible stories. It was all very real. That's what I remember most about the first time I was in Atlanta. The people were real, the conditions were real, and to many who we chatted with, Jesus was so very real to them.

SafeHouse does a service every night before serving a meal. These services are usually just a speaker from the church or organization that is providing the meal, though occasionally there's some music too. One night while we watched on, a speaker told a room full of people on the street something along the lines of "accept Jesus and He will solve all of your problems!" The message wasn't exactly that, but I wrote down that the way this man talked made Jesus sound like a wad of cash.

Jesus is not a wad of cash, thankfully. He is much more than that, and no where in the Bible does it say that starting a life where you follow Jesus will make things "better." In fact, the Bible says that if we choose to give God the pen, the story he writes for us will often times be viewed as stupid and offensive. It may even drive someone to kill you. That is the fullness of the gospel. But it's worth it. This is what the story is about.

If you ever read any other part of this blog or even if you stop reading what I write right after you read this post, know this: this is the most important blog post I'll ever write. If you remember nothing else from reading this blog, remember these words: you exist to love and be loved.

We are already doing the second part. God loves us, no matter how we are. We see this through Jesus, God's son and God in the flesh who loved sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and even the religious leaders(though they made Him pretty angry sometimes). So, by looking at the gospel and seeing how Christ died for me, and you, and everyone, we can ask the question; why would God do that if He didn't love us? We are loved. The first part is the tough one. We are made to love.

In the fourth chapter of the book of the Bible called 1st John, we come to understand that God Himself is love. If God is love, then the only way to love is to do so through God. So... we need a way to do that.

Luckily Jesus Christ tells us that He is the way(see post #1). Accepting Christ and following Him to God is the way we love. The book of Romans tells us that if we confess that Jesus is Lord of our lives, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, we'll be saved. We'll have salvation.

Salvation is only where God begins writing the story though. Unfortunately, the church often times stops here. We have a "get em' saved!" mentality. Then, after salvation is attained, we leave people stranded, with absolutely no idea what to do next. The problem with that mentality is that you were not made to "get saved." You were made to love, and the decision to give God the pen and follow Christ is what allows you to do that.

Last time, I talked about how the story that God is writing is a big story that includes everyone's story together. That story is about how God is bringing everything back to Him. The conflict is that we have sin, and sin can't be in the presence of God. But we have a rescue in the form of Christ. Christ is who brings us back. Christ is who does the work of God. My God is a God of happy endings.

In Atlanta there are real people. There are real people living real stories, many of which are being written by God. Their stories are often hard to hear, but their lives reflect the hope that comes from following Jesus. They can see it, even though they have nothing. Hope. That's what I mean when I say God is a God of happy endings. This is what we wait and hope for; this ending of the story of redemption. This is the plot of the story God writes for each one of us. You were made to love and be loved.

You were made for this.