The Story of My Life

I heard a quote the other day by the late William S. Buckley that made me laugh so hard that I almost dropped the cup in my hand.  I found the quote amusing not only because it was funny, but also because it seems to be something that I see unfolding almost daily in our current presidential campaign.  He stated that: 

“Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views,

 but then are shocked and offended

 to discover that there are other views.”

I have found myself shaking my head many times over the last year or so as I have been closely following the events that tell the story of this year’s campaign.  It always tends to catch me a little off guard when one of the candidates or party representatives utters something that seems totally out of kilter to my experience within the middle class America I live in.

Mr. Buckley’s quote hits home to me for as a Christian, my beliefs have become more and more under fire.  Suddenly I am considered to be a right wing radical and called a bigot and a racist simply because I do not agree with someone else’s views.  My viewpoint, that is based within my position as the righteousness of Christ, is now seen to be a threat to those who espouse a more liberal view that many times does not line up with the Word of God… which is the Word that I look to as the final word in any and every situation in my life.

But you know… I have come to realize that God’s Word has the power to change my life for the better, while the others who belittle what I and thousands of other Christians believe, does not!  In fact, I had a revelation this morning as I was speaking out the Word to my wife while we sat at the breakfast table.

As I have mentioned many times before, the Lord spoke to my heart over five years ago now, and told me that the number one thing that I could be doing for my wife as we walk through this battle with Alzheimer’s was to saturate her with His Word both day and night.  That command made immediate sense to me for by that time in my Christian walk I had a firm understanding of Romans 10:17 where we are instructed that “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (KJV)  I also gained the insight that while Piper’s physical brain was going through a time of trauma, that her spirit was still strong and receptive to the restorative and healing powers of His Word.

These directions also seemed to give me answers to my disagreement with many good meaning Christians who told me that there was nothing that I could do spiritually for Piper, for as a mature Christian, her healing was totally up to her.  That thought just didn’t sit right due to the unique debilitating effects of this disease that makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the affected individual to reason and act responsibly. So after receiving that command, I have been diligently speaking God’s Word of healing over her both day and night every day since!

This morning as I ended our morning confessions with Jeremiah 1:12 where we are told that Papa God is “watching over my word (logos) to perform it” (ESV) I suddenly understood the performance that He was talking about!  After a moment’s pause I turned excitedly to Piper and exclaimed “The Word that we’re speaking out over you both day and night is God’s script for the story of our lives!”

I’ve written enough scripts for church productions over the years that I have an intimate understanding of the importance of the performers following the script in order to bring the play to its proper conclusion.  And God’s Word is the perfect script for Him to follow in the performance of the next chapter in the epic story of the life and ministry of Jim & Piper Berruto!

So… I guess it really doesn’t matter what others may think of me, or what titles they’ll attach to what I believe… simply because it may not agree with their philosophy of life.  What matters most to me is that I keep following the script that Papa God has written in His Word!  In the end, His Word will be the only one that really counts!  His Word tells the story of a strong, confident, healed and whole Piper.  The world’s script does not have such a positive ending.   Our faith in God’s Word supersedes the limited boundaries of the world’s wisdom and empowers those of us who believe to do exceedingly, abundantly above all…

I started out with a quote so I’ll end in the same way.  Charles Spurgeon, one of the most influential British preachers of the 1800’s, defined what it means for a Christian to have faith, trust and/or believe (all from the same Greek root) in God and His Word by explaining that: “Faith is believing that Christ is what He is said to be, and that He will do what He has promised to do, and then to expect this of Him.”

Is this the script that you follow in your believing?  I hope you’re having a great week and in the midst of it, I encourage you to keep confessing: “I am expecting the script of God’s Word to be the story of my life today!”