What Story Are You Part Of?

Take a moment to contemplate how the work you’re involved with complements God’s far-reaching narrative.

“It’s fools who plunge ahead with reckless confidence,” Proverbs 14:16

You want to get going. You want to see your community transformed.

But what is God actually calling you to do? It’s a small question upon which so much depends.

To get clarity on the question, you need to understand the wider narrative.

Getting Perspective

A lecturer walked into his art class. Without saying a word, he flicked on the whiteboard to reveal what appeared to be a grey smear of oil paint.

“This,” he announced with a sense of occasion, “is arguably the greatest painting of all time.” The students were baffled. It was nothing more than a smudge. How could this be a masterpiece?

As the lecturer watched the bemused faces of his students, he began to pan out from the grey streak to reveal that the paint mark was, in fact, a tiny section of something much larger.

That painting was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It was indeed a masterpiece.

What Story Are You Part Of?

How many times do we fail to see our work within the wider context of our own community and, indeed, God’s plan?

In his book, After Virture, author Alisdair MacIntyre says, “I can only answer the questions ‘What am I to do?’ if I can answer the prior question of ‘What story or stories do I find myself a part of?’”.

Any actor preparing for a role doesn’t merely read the script. They explore the back story of their character to understand not only what they do, but how and why.

It’s time-consuming – and frustrating at times – but the result is a much more accurate and effective portrayal of their character.

We are reminded in Proverbs 14:16 that it is “fools who plunge ahead with reckless confidence.”

Before we start any sort of community action at church, we should all take heed, pausing to contemplate our role within the much wider narrative given to us by God.