Along the Way

Enduring Loss and Difficulty

How can we endure loss and pain in our lives? Keep your eye on the end of the story. This is illustrated vividly in the film, Strnager Than Fiction, where actor Will Ferrell portrays a tax auditor who lives a very predictable life. Every minute is controlled by his watch. Until one day he hears a voice narrating the thoughts and actions of his life. He eventually discovers that his life is being written by a neurotic, self-absorbed, chain-smoking novel author; he is not truly in control of his life. Furthermore, this author is famous for writing tragedies. Harold is beside himself with frustration and grief. To add tension to the story, Harold's life begins to get better: he falls in love and lives out his dream of playing the guitar. Harold doesn't find any peace until the author gives him a transcript of the story and he is reads the whole narrative, right to the end. There he discovers that his life, yes, even his death has great significance. Only then is he able to accept his destiny, as painful as it may seem, and live out the story of his life with peace and joy.

In this life we will experience all kinds of trouble, pain and loss. But there is a hope that is beyond our ability to control the events and outcomes of our lives. God has written the last chapter of the story. It is a good practice for me to read this chapter regularly. I need to be reminded that my life is not my own, that my destiny is not in the hands of feeble human beings or a neurotic, self absorbed deity. The eternal Father holds my life in his loving hands and has sealed my destiny by the sacrifice of His own dear Son, Jesus Christ. Now that's stranger than fiction.