God at the improv

taken from a book - butterflies in brazil

As a christian, I believe that God is the creator of all things, and he is ultimately in control. But that doesn't really answer our question. As humans, we are not passive pawns that God shifts and shuttles in a purely deterministic of chess. Our lives are part of a bigger story, and somehow our choices contribute to it. We have a purpose, but we are not puppets. Part of our life's journey is to learn how to surrender to God and cooperate with hiim in shaping our lives around his purpose. Saying that God is sovereign means acknowledging that the story is his, and it is about him. It also means recognising that he has allowed us to participate in the story with him. He's the author and finisher, but we have very importnat roles to play.

Think of it this way: Human history is like an improvisational movie- that's right, not an improv sketch, an entire movie- with God as the writer, director, producer, and lead actor. It's a work in progress, and we, the other improv avtors, have the opportunity to put in a few scene's of our own. We're not just extras in a busy boulevard scene, we're characters with uniques parts, personalities, and idiosyncrasies.

So let's imagine a scene. You're on a date. Let's say it's your first date in a while- you were taking a break from the dating scene, you know, taking some time to clear your head and reconnect with God. In this scene, there are a few things you know the director doesn't want- you can't be a jerk; you can't end up in bed together, you know the limits- but the restaurant, the activity, the conversation, that's all you.

Now, as it turns out, God is also in that scene. You soon discover he's in every scene, though you don't always see him. As you try your hand at this edgy style of acting called improv, you see that God improvises right along with you. And like a good actor, he leads you in each scene with subtle cues and actions. In case you forget the overall story, he's there to help you not ruin the picture, and to find your way back to the plot. God never forgets; he wrote the synopsis, remember?

The direction you go with the evening is your choice: You either advance the plot of God's story, or you digress and distract it. That's why you can't end up in bed with your date: It's outside the plot and would sidetrack the story that God is trying to tell through you. If you allow your scenes to be hikacked by sin, they'll end up on the cutting room floor, because they'll be ruined. But when you let God redeem your life, it can become a great scene, displaying a powerful performance by the main character.

God's brilliance is seen in his ability to work the various parts and players together into a larger story that serves his ultimate purpose. He knows what each scene is for and what purpose it serves in the overall picture. Still, how each scene unfolds depends in part on how the players play it. We can make choices that take a scene in a direction that God did not intend, but when we do that, we hinder the development of the story and don't advance the plot. (If you've ever been to an improv performance and suffered through a sketch that just doesn't work, you know what I'm talking about. It makes it awkward for everyone.) When we take a scene away from the storyline that God has prepared, our actions in that scene become pointless because God won't use them in the final cut. Although God can use even our 'cutting room floor' scenes to refine our character and teach us important lessons, the more we come to understand the roles he has given us to play, the more our lives can become a part of the story God is ultimately trying to tell.

The good news is, He's on the scene, always leading us back to the story. After all, He's the star. The story is His.

Will you be a part of His-story?
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