God, the Creative Genius

I remember taking a college psychology class and learning about how George Lucas used some of Carl Jung’s psychology to create his Star Wars world. I thought that was really interesting, but I was never into any sort of fantasy books or movies until I had kids. Then I had a boy who LOVES everything fantasy. From Star Wars to DC and Marvel superheroes to Labyrinth, this kid is a total fan of far-off worlds. It’s fascinating to see what humans can create. But it’s not just fantasy authors that create their own rules and universes and good guys and bad guys, it’s every author who’s ever written or told a story. And God is the greatest author of them all.

When an author sits down to write a story, they have to decide a lot more than what we see on the pages. Not only are they telling us what happened, they’re putting it into a certain place and time, with characters who must live by certain rules, consequences, hopes, dreams, fears, needs, and wants. When we read a story or watch a movie, we pick up on these aspects pretty quickly, even if they are not explicitly stated. And when we see the characters making choices, we try to predict what’s going to happen next. Sometimes we are right; sometimes something totally unexpected happens.

These dream worlds are a lot like our own world. We have rules and consequences, hopes and dreams, fears, needs, and wants. We make choices and try to predict the outcome. But many of us forget that we also have an author! We have someone who dreamed us up, along with our world and everything in it. And not only that – He actually CREATED everything that he dreamed of! He didn’t just write it down, he made it happen. He brought it to life! And yet, we seem to forget that He’s there much of the time.

Unlike when we watch a movie or read a book and accept the way the author’s world is set up, we QUESTION everything our author has made! We balk at rules and consequences. We want to make our own rules! We are offended at the way things work, and we want to change them! We know better than the author! We should have written this book! If we don’t understand something, we think we need to fix it, rather than trust our creator’s judgement and timing. We want everything revealed to us right now! We don’t want to wait until the end of the book!

But maybe instead of fighting our author every step of the way, we could try approaching life as if it were a bestselling fiction novel by our favorite author, or a blockbuster movie by our favorite director. We could savor every page. We could hang on every word. We could marvel at the complexity of the characters. We could explain to others the rules and consequences of this universe the Author has created. We could defend His artistic choices till we’re blue in the face.

“What a genius!” we might say.

“I have followed his work for years!”

“I can’t wait for the sequel!”

“His story lines are soooo interesting!”

“His timing is perfect!”

“I could read this a million times and not get tired of it!”

“How can you question perfection?”

Thought Factory

I am

A mother

A wife

A teacher

A cook

A housekeeper

An artist

A writer

On good days

I walk through my house

And my brain says

Look at this

Beautiful life

I smell freshly baked cookies

I see family meals together

I see children exploring and learning

I notice the sun coming in the window

I notice the birds on the porch

I see my life’s work all around me

I feel God’s presence and blessings

I am thankful and content

I can rest when I am tired

On bad days

I walk through my house

And my brain says

Look at this mess

The floors are horrendous

The dishes are dirty

There are toys and games and stuff everywhere

Unfinished projects and chores

You haven’t done enough today

I feel God’s disappointment

I am crushed by the weight of the world

I cannot turn my brain off

There are too many things to worry about

But as time goes on

And I am more aware of these thoughts

As I grow closer to God

And know myself better

As I improve at recognizing the lies

And replacing them with the truth

As I learn that good days and bad days

Are manufactured in my mind

The good days increase

And the bad days decrease

I have hope for the future

I can live in the present

I am thankful for the past

I know that I am loved

No matter what

Pop Culture Dropouts

Jesus was radically different than anyone who came before him. The things he taught and the way he lived were revolutionary. His understanding of God's Word was shocking. He called us to be in this world but not of it. He didn’t fit in, and he didn’t care. He knew what his purpose was and he knew God had a plan for him. After his death, the early Christians were on the fringe of society. They met secretly. They were no longer conforming to the pattern of this world. (Romans 12:2) They didn’t fit in, and they didn’t care. But over the next several hundred years, Christianity spread throughout the world. Instead of being on the fringe of society, they became the majority. Pop culture and Christian culture became intertwined. If you wanted to fit in, becoming a Christian could help you do that.

The Bible used to be the most read book. But most people I meet today have not read it, do not quote from it, do not know many stories from it, and do not use it at all in their daily life. And for many years I wasn’t using it in my daily life either. I’m a Xennial, and my generation, along with Generation X and Millenials, cannot list the Bible as part of our pop culture. For our generations, pop culture is sex, drugs, and rock and roll. The world dictates our life path. We look around to see what others are doing and we try to do the same thing, or better. We do whatever we can to fit in and be successful.

I grew up with the idea that “fitting in” was the key to happiness. The Bible didn’t teach me this, but the world did. We went to church every Sunday, but what I learned at school was often different from what I learned at church, and I had a hard time reconciling the two. From historical timelines to movies to dating, there seemed to be two different realities – one at church, and one in the world. I couldn’t understand how to make these two worlds coexist, because they are contradictory. We, as Christians, must stop pretending that we are a part of mainstream society. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be radically different, just as he was. We are called to be on the fringe of society, just like the early Christians.

God calls us to be pop culture dropouts. We are called to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2) We are called to cling to the truth in a world full of lies. We are called to speak the truth with love. We are called to be discerning, to recognize the false teachers and liars. We are called to put God first and seek Him above all else. How does the American dream fit into God’s plans for us? Pop culture tells us the American dream is acquiring more money and more stuff; finding happiness, however we choose; finding a cause to support and finding our identity in a group of like-minded people. But God has a purpose and a plan for each of us. We are here to serve Him, not to serve ourselves. We are here to share His love with others, not to achieve our version of success. We are here to grow closer to Him, not to rack up debt and accomplishments. We are here to further His kingdom on earth, not to build our kingdoms.

So, my fellow Gen X/Xennial/Millenials - let’s start a new revolution. Let’s be ok with not fitting in. Let’s find the truth in God’s Word, and not in what celebrities say. Let’s look to God for truth and not just seek out people who agree with us. Let’s search for the real truth instead of “our truth.” Let’s seek to rejoice in the truth and not delight in evil. (1 Corinthians 13:6) Let’s show up with grace and truth when God’s Word is misconstrued. Let’s trust God with our lives and our futures and fulfill His purpose for us. Let’s point EVERYTHING back to God. Let’s talk about God and His commandments when we sit at home and when we walk along the road, when we lie down and when we get up. Let’s tie them as symbols on our hands and foreheads; write them on the doorframes of our houses and gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9) Let’s be pop culture dropouts and watch what God will do with the next generation.