The Story We Find Ourselves In

Without any courses or meetings to attend today, I finally had a little time of peace and quiet to be alone by myself and to do my own things. I made sandwiches for dinner, and went straight into my room and opened ‘The Story We Find Ourselves in’. I spent the whole night reading, something I hadn’t done for quite awhile. It felt good to be able to do that again. No distractions. No interruptions, except for when I decided to take a bath in between.

It was beautiful. McLaren seems to be really good with words. He paints beautiful pictures with his words and his stories. In this book, Neo talks about the broad story of the universe, the story we find ourselves in. We all have our own story, but our stories are only a minute element of the larger story of the world we live in as well as the entire universe. I love the way he looks at the world. I love the way he looks at God and Jesus. I love the way he tells this story.

In the final part of the story, Neo talks about the Consummation. He tells the rest of the characters to look at history and the future differently. Instead of looking at time as the past pushing the present into the future through causalities, see the future as beckoning the present to come to it, and pushing the past away. Just like a father letting go of his baby as she takes her first steps, God creates the universe. God lets the universe go, to form itself and to create its own story. He gives us the freedom to write our own story, and to decide if we want our story to be part of His dream for the world. We fall, like the baby who is uncertain of her steps. We make mistakes and we stray. But our Father picks us up. He intervenes by sending Jesus. Jesus shows us how to walk. Then He shows us how much it pains the Father every time we fall or decide to go our own way, by dying on the cross. Yet, God is not just like the father who lets go of the child and who walks beside the child. God is also like the mother waiting on the other side of the room. Her arms are outstretched as she beckons for her precious baby to come to her. She calls out to her, and waits. God calls out to us from the future. Slowly, like the little baby, we go to Him, waiting for the day when we will rest in His arms. Yet, it is not the end of our story. It is the end of this story, but another story begins; a story that we cannot hope to imagine. This is the consummation – the new story.

Kerry died not long after Neo told this last part of the story. Now she was part of it. I’m beginning to look forward to being part of the last portion of this story that we find ourselves in. I have been thinking about death recently, especially with the earthquake and all. This wonderful book has helped me to look forward to it, and not to be afraid of it. Neo did talk about what he thought about judgment and the life after, and it was really wonderful. I never saw it that way before.