"I wonder what sort of tale we've fallen into?"

I'll give you a shiny penny if you can tell me where that quote came from.

Have you ever walked in a room in the middle of a movie, or at the end, and you just didn't get it? Ever walked in on a bunch of girls watchin a chick flick and you just didn't understand what all the fuss was about? Have you ever walked in on someone watching reruns of Beverly Hills 90210, heard them cry, "Dylan really does love Kelly!" and you wondered what the big deal was?

Have you ever felt that way about life-like you walked in in the middle of something and you just can't figure out what's going on? I think a lot of us feel that way sometimes. Like we can't figure out what life is all about, much less what part we're supposed to play.

Want to know what I think? You probably do a little otherwise you wouldn't be reading my blog. I think that just like understanding a movie, or a book, we have to start at the beginning. Some people like to read the end of the book first, or fast forward through the boring parts of movies to see the exciting ending. Not me. I have to be a part of something from the beginning- the set-up, the character development, the build to the climax, etc. I think that's the only way to truly understand the depth of anything.

Take Easter, for example. Lots of people celebrate Easter as Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the grave. Yes, that's what happened at Easter, but I don't think that's what it's all about. Easter for me is the climax of the grandest love story of all time. Easter Sunday just doesn't make sense without the cross on Friday. And the cross doesn't make sense without the manger in Bethlehem. And the manger just doesn't make sense without the Garden of Eden. It's all intertwined, and I think if you don't remember that you've lost part of the story.

So let's apply it to our lives. What story are you a part of? Is it just what has happened to you since you were born 15, 20, 30 years ago? Are you just a part of the story of your family? Or are we all part of something much more epic, bigger than we could imagine yet casting us in crucial roles?

That's what I think. God's story didn't end with the revelation of John. That was just the end of another chapter. His story still goes on today, and I'm a part of it. And if I am to fully understand my role in the epic, I have to start at the beginning. I have to look at my story in context with the grand tale that has been going on for over 4000 years. Then I can begin to understand what part I am to play and what my purpose is in life.

And it all makes so much more sense.