After going through the EPIC series with our small group I had some closing thoughts as sort of a recap.
The EPIC teaching, if you remember, is not just “another way to interpret scripture.” It is the larger story of the Gospel Good News that is often is presented and reads like cliff notes with a few pages missing! Here’s a quick recap:
1. Here are 3 eternal truths that I pray each one of us realize on our life journey:
- Life is not as it seems on the surface – there is more!
- Something else is going on, and has been going on long before I was ever born!
- I have a significance role to play in this story!
2. Here are the 4 Acts of the Larger Story that help put scripture and the Gospel into perspective:
- Act I: Eternal Love – God, Spirit, and Jesus all existed long before anything was made. They existed in community, and they wanted to share their essence.
- Act II: Entrance of Evil – We don’t know exactly “when” per-se, but what we can tell from scripture is at some point angels were created. And one of the angels, Lucifer, betrayed God. It seems he wanted to have more control, more power, be more of the center figure. He did not trust the heart of God. 1/3 of the angels went to war with Lucifer, and he became Satan, was expelled from heaven along with the 1/3.
- Act III: The human era – When God “began to create the heaven and the earth” in Genesis something else was already going on. God put his image in us, and desired to share his love and life with us. But the serpent tempted Eve and Adam to question God’s heart. We chose the wrong tree and Satan succeeded in injuring that which was most precious to God. But God would answer the question of his heart’s intention once and for all – Jesus. Jesus rescued us, the prince become peasant, showed us life restored, and gave up himself to set us free. And we are free now, not just in heaven. Free to be alive and restored to what God meant when he meant me, when he meant you. And to quote Gladiator, “and we will see him again… But not yet… Not yet.”
- Act IV: Ultimate Restoration – In the end God will make “all things new.” Not “all new things” as we often imagine. Heaven will be a restoration of that which is into that which is meant to be. Is it possible that Hollywood could write an end to a story more magnificent than the happily ever after God has in mind? This reuniting will be more than we could possibly imagine. It is not an eternal hymn sing in the sky. It is so much more – much much more beautiful and adventurous and captivating than we can possible imagine! If we understood that – if the promise of heaven was not stolen but somehow restored in us – how much more would we Christ followers live as if though we had a hope – a hope others would ask us about?
I sincerely pray each one of us would realize, at a deep, heart level, what God has in store for you. Continue to ask the question, “God, what did you mean when you made me?” If you’re having trouble with that question, here are a few places to go to help:
- Go to your desires – what things do you most enjoy – what makes you come alive?
- Consider your favorite stories – what characters do you most identify with? What about them most inspires you? What does that tell you about your own heart and God’s image in you?
We discovered in Act II and at the beginning of Act III that we have an enemy. And that enemy does a great job stealing, killing, and destroying. That’s the story of my last month, and why there are no posts on Act III and Act IV or closing thoughts.
Have you ever had one of those weeks – one of those months?
In what part of God’s creation do you think is most awe inspiring. Answer this quick poll:
Wow- Act III is full of so much. After all, it’s our story in the Larger Story. There is no way to make this “quick thoughts” so I am going to break it into 2 parts:
- Part One: The fall
- Part Two: The rescue
Part one: The Fall
Original Glory
There are only a few short chapters in Genesis prior to the entry of the serpent and our eating of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. These few short chapters, even fewer while we (man and woman) were alive, are so often forgotten.
Even more important than the fall is the creation. What were we meant to be when God made Adam and when God made Eve?
Have you ever baked a cake or baked brownies? I’m not that good at backing. Sarah is the queen. But one thing I do know: the outcome of my baking is always at it’s pinnacle right out of the oven. Within a few minutes it’s flattened out, the edges go dark and hard, and it’s just not pretty anymore. My creation is at it’s best right away; even though I can show it off a while later, it’s nothing close to my intention, to the original splendor of my (feeble as it were) attempt at baking.
Although that’s a really bad illustration, I think there is something to be learned from knowing what once was when it comes to experiencing what now is.
God made us in his image:
I daresay we’ve heard a bit about original sin, but not nearly enough about original glory, which comes before sin and is deeper to our nature. We were crowned with glory and honor. Why does a woman long to be beautiful? Why does a man hope to be found brave ? Because we remember, if only faintly, that we were once more than we are now. (page 50)
Behind the Fall
Now that Act II is known, that there was war in heaven and the evil one is cast out, but not completely destroyed, the stage is set to understand the entrance of evil. But what is most important to realize about Satan’s motivation is this: if he cannot destroy God, he will do everything to destroy that which God loves.
You must understand: the Evil One hates God, hates anything that reminds him of the glory of God… wherever it exists. Unable to overthrow the Mighty One, he turned his sights on those who bore his image.
Satan came into the Garden and whispered to Adam and Eve – an in them, to all of us – “You cannot trust the heart of God… he’s holding out on you… you’ve got to take matters under your control.” He sowed the seed of mistrust in our hearts; he tempted us to seize control.
Understand the Evil One’s motivation – the essence behind of the words whispered to Adam and Eve – and you’ll understand the whole battle before us that wages on still.
But there is more… there is rescue.
Thought One: From my own story, and from that of so many I’ve encountered, Act II is one that is so often unknown. The existence of angelic beings, the fall of Lucifer and all his followers, and their place in our story are misunderstood in many circles. If not misunderstood, then ignored. From page 33 of Act II:
This is precisely what the Bible (and all the stories that echo it) has warned us about all these years: we live in two worlds – or in one world with two halves, part that we can see and part that we cannot. We are urged for our own welfare, to act as though the unseen world (the rest of reality) is, in fact, more weighty and more real and more dangerous than the part of reality we can see.
To understand this reality is of critical importance to understanding God’s story and, more importantly, to bring out life, and that of humanity (space and time as we know it) into clear picture. Without understanding Act II, nothing from Genesis 4 and onward can be interpreted with a sense of clarity!
Thought Two:
Satan mounted his rebellion through the power of an idea: God is holding out on us. (page 40)
This is how “evil desire” is evident in my life. If I can an answer this question, I know with certainty a choice I am about to make is one of evil intent, just like Satan’s idea: By making this choice, is the reason rooted in the fact I think God is holding out on me ?
Caught this post from Michael Hyatt, editor of Tomas Nelson (that just so happens to be the publisher of the EPIC material) and just had to share. Great insight, and if you like to read Donald Miller is an excellent and challenging author. Enjoy!
The Most Important Part of Your Story
Last night Sarah took my car and some of her favorite CDs. When I turned on the car and left for work today a song by Bebo Norman was playing in the CD player – All That I Have Sown. Considering our study of EPIC and conversation about story this song connected with me big time. My favorite line: “It’s living inside me. It was planted like a seed. All to tell a story.” Enjoy!
From the album Big Blue Sky, All That I Have Sown:
I believe when they put her in the ground
I think they buried part of me
Because I’ve been searching, I’ve been looking all around
But I cannot find the heart of me, the heart of meSo I’ll put my fingers in this soil upon her grave
And I will plant for her a garden
And every flower, a reminder of her face
Will grow up graceful as a pardonAnd all that grows is her story told
As life unfolds here before us
The peace I’ve found in this broken ground
I can see her in the harvest…of all that I have sownLong before I was covered up in gray
Before the old had bent my bones
We grew our children in the red Georgia clay
They were our garden and our homeAnd all that grows is our story told
As life unfolds here before
The peace we found in that broken ground
I can see them in the harvest…of all that I have sownAnd when my life is done
I pray the kingdom come
And take me to Glory
It’s living inside me
It was planted like a seed
All to tell a storyI believe when they put me in the ground
There will remain a part of me
Because I’ve been searching and the joy that I have found
Is living in my family…it’s all that I have sown
This week’s reading on Act I is really simple, yet something quite profound. When I first heard the message of the Larger Story, Act I hit my by surprise. Why? Because I had always heard (and assumed) that chronologically the story started with Genesis 1. My Christian upbringing was quite human centered, as I would suspect most of ours has been. So considering the Trinity’s existence long before time and space was quite a challenging thought for me.
Over time, however, I’ve grown to really love this aspect of God’s character. Maybe it’s selfish, but I find it such a relief that I’m not solely responsible for my own story! It’s so awesome to consider that all humans are part (or at least have the opportunity to become a part) of the story God is writing. I’m thankful that the weight of my life is not left up to that which I could make of it. That’s why this week’s favorite quote sums up the blessing of Act I:
Something preceded us. Something good. We’d much rather be included in something grand than have to create the meaning of our lives. To know that life, ultimately, doesn’t rest on our shoulders, but invites us up into it.
As I read through each chapter in the EPIC reader, I’m looking for a single thought that I find most impacts my life. With each chapter I’ll share that thought and what it means to me. Feel free to share your thoughts on the chapter.
Chapter 1: Prologue
This one thought was the key for me this week:
“We won’t begin to understand our lives, or what this so-called gospel is that Christianity speaks of, until we understand the Story in which we have found ourselves.”
Understanding THE STORY has brought absolute context to my life. Although not every little moment has come into crystal-clear focus, understanding that my life falls into some larger thing going on, and that moments of my life are just that – moments – not everything- has brought great comfort.
In the EPIC Prologue we talked about story, and how life – our life and the life of those around us – is best interpreted through the lens of a story. In fact, understanding the fullness of the gospel story – of God’s story – takes on a broader, more powerful look and feel if I step away from what I know and experience, and ask “what is going on in this ‘larger story’ God is telling?”
Take Away Questions: Consider the stories you love. Your favorite books, movies, plays. What about that story interests you so? Is there a character with whom you identify? Ask God to reveal to you why that story means so much to you. What does that story reveal about what my desires are? What parts of that story borrow from your story God?
NOTE: This post is a follow up to a small group we’re leading. This goes with our first official week into the EPIC series by John Eldredge, where we talked about story as a whole and watched John introduce the idea of life being best interpreted through the lens of story.
