Zoom Out
In the beginning God… – Genesis 1:1a, NIV
And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” -Revelation 21:6-8, NLT
“Only God can write a story that resonates not just in the power of the imagination or the heart or the mind, but in the very soul; only God can write a story that brings dead things to life.”
― Jared C. Wilson, The Storytelling God
“Better to have a small role in God’s story than to cast yourself as the lead in your own fiction.” -Lecrae
“When we start to realize how amazing God’s story is, a question naturally arises: Who am I that I should get to be a part of the greatest story ever told?” – Michelle Anthony
I wonder if this scenario sounds familiar to you: You are at an event, say a concert for instance and you’ve zoomed your phone camera in all the way to get that “great” video or picture of the performer. Then, in a rookie move, you jostle your phone and now, you’ve no idea what your camera is pointed towards. Moving it about you in futility, you try to re-find the person you were hoping to see. There is only one sure fire solution, you must zoom out and start over.
Often, this is what happens to us when we view our day to day moments, even our lives through a zoomed in lens of ego centrism. Zoomed way in, everything can get thrown off by the tiniest of bumps and we cannot again find what it was we were looking for in the first place. That’s why it is so helpful for us as creatures to be reminded of a much larger picture of which we are a tiny, though not insignificant, part. And that was the main hope of yesterday’s message, to zoom out, like way, way out. If done properly, this zooming out gives us not just a better sense of the whole drama that is unfolding but, a much healthier and helpful understanding of ourselves in relation to it. Metanarrative helps us make sense of the mini-narrative. If I can understand better the overarching story and its major themes, then I can better sort my own experiences. I am no longer working with a pixelated darkness trying to find myself but, can see my story in relation to God’s much grander narrative. His work in and through history and how He will bring that work to completion gives me the perspective I need to navigate today. It envelopes me in hope. Why? Because, I am no longer carrying the massive weight of making my story matter or trying to order the universe to my whims. Rather, I have embraced my role in the drama, one in which I am not a main character. I am significant, not because I have a starring role but, because the One with the starring role has loved me and redeemed me. My significance and my story itself are tied to Him and His story. This way of framing things allows me to rest, not on circumstance, accomplishment, planning, or plan completion, but on the finished work of Jesus.
As we worshipped yesterday, I was caught up short by a statement made in the video we watched for our missions moment. Near the end, one of our IWs (International Workers) said this, “Even if I knew that I would spend my entire life here and not one person would come to know Christ, I would still come. Even coming and being obedient in that is an act of worship worthy of God.” What a zoomed out life perspective! I am not there yet, and maybe you aren’t either but, we have the choice everyday, even in the moments of our days, to zoom out or to zoom in. Will we see this day as part of a much bigger picture, our lives as part of a far grander plan and story? Or will we zoom in and feel the helplessness and despair that fill us when our plans go awry, and our efforts feel futile? Here’s my encouragement to you: zoom out! See the bookends of eternity and rest in God’s amazing story.
Bonus:
As promised, here is the link to the Bible Project video on the overlap of kingdoms.