Your Life’s Theme
Who is your favorite character in the Star Wars movies? I typically don’t choose the villain as my favorite movie character, but for some reason, I have always liked Darth Vader the most in the Star Wars saga. Perhaps it was his strength or the voice-over by James Earl Jones. Regardless, I often chose him as my favorite.
That being said, of all the characters in this epic story, I would suggest that no one character is the star of the show. In fact, I submit that the key character is an idea, rather than a person. Throughout the entire story, it is the idea of hope that resonates as a common thread.
When I compare this idea to my life, I must confess that most often, I want to make my life and my story all about me: what I have done, where I have been, what I have accomplished, who I have influenced… Do you sense the common theme? We want to make it all about us. This selfish tendency is natural and often celebrated in our culture. At the same time, it is counter to what God expects.
When you read Acts 22, which I challenge you to do, you see that Paul tells his story, but points to the key theme of hope that is found in Christ. Paul understands that it is Christ who rescued him and gave him purpose. It is Christ for whom he lived and served.
His life’s mission was to fulfill Acts 22:15 and to be committed to being a witness to what he had seen and heard Christ do. This encounter with the Living God changed his life and altered his trajectory. Can the same be said of you and me?
Our salvation experience is not a mountaintop experience that we move on from; it is the defining moment that shapes all we do from that day forward. Like Paul, we are called and commissioned to tell His story every day. He is the central figure of our lives, and the hope that we have experienced must be shared, so that others can walk in that same peace.
Who will you tell today about what you have seen and heard?
1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ac 21:37–40). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
1 Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Acts of the Apostles (Vol. 2, p. 195). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
