Grand designs
Admittedly, this post will begin somewhat morose. But take heart, Dear Reader, for hope will be renewed. Read on...
A few weeks ago, I caught the beginning of the movie "Final Destination." It begins with a class of students boarding a plane for France for a student trip. One of the students has a vision of the plane exploding. Already seated on board, he begins to panic and manages to get off the plane, along with 5 or 6 other students who are disturbed by his display. Once they are off the plane, it takes off and...you guessed it...explodes just off the runway. The rest of the movie is about Death picking off the rest of his quarry, one-by-one.
Death, as the prescient student determined, had been cheated, and was now finishing the job.
This premise is developed a bit later in the film when we meet an undertaker named Mr. Bludworth (it is a horror movie, remember). He, who has spent so much of his life dealing with death, unravels the Grand Design for us:
"In Death there are no accidents. No coincidencess. No mishaps. And no escapes.
"From the minute you're cut loose from the womb...it's a one way ticket on a trip to the tomb.
"Every single move we make, from the mundane to the monumental... the red light we stop at, or run; the airplane we ride, or walk out of... is all a part of Death's sadistic design leading to the grave."
"Death is like big Milton Bradley game of "Mouse Trap." The day you're born is just the boot, hanging from the streetlamp, kicking the marble to get things rolling. Growing up is only the marble rolling down the curving chute. You feel immortal having survived school, sex, drugs 'n' rock 'n' roll, but you've really only upset the big hand holding the steel ball that falls into the bathtub. Marriage and kids and career seem to make it all worthwhile until the ball hits the see-saw and flips the diving man into the big barrel. In the old folks home or the hospital you just see the big cage rattling down until it captures the mouse. Game over."
(OK, the depressing part is over, you can open your eyes...)
Whoa! Sounds like Mr. Bludworth has a bad case of the-glass-is-half-empty downers! I have to admit, there are times when my attitude is dismal and my output as bleak. I'm sure most people have asked at some point: "What's it all for, when the end is the same, and inevitable?" It's easy to get caught up in the realm of the self and ignore the big picture.
I believe there are dark forces at work in the world, constantly pushing it towards increased hatred, violence, oppression, and other such intangibles rooted in selfishness. But I believe, also, that there are good forces at work here, too. I think another movie can be referenced here to illustrate this: The Lord of the Rings. (I'll quote the movie, since I have yet to find the patience for the novel.)
Frodo Baggins is on a journey to destroy the One Ring which was forged in evil, hatred, oppression, and all those other forces mentioned earlier. At one point, Frodo laments that such a thing exists and that such a task has fallen on him. How, with all the bad around, with Sauron's and Sauromon's armies gathering to destroy freedom-loving Middle Earth, can there be any hope for him, the smallest of the small?
His friend Gandalf assures him: "There are other forces at work in this world Frodo besides the will of evil."
Our lives are not meant only for the grave. Each of us is meant to accomplish great things to the benefit of our fellow man. And there are forces in place to help us get there. I believe it is God who sets up certain coincidences in our lives...the people we meet, the person we marry, the children we have. I know that I have the friends that I do for a reason. These people have all played an important part in who I have become and who I am becoming, whether they know it or not. I know that they are important to me and to the work that God has ready for me sometime in the future.
Think about it for a minute. How did you come to know your spouse (assuming you're married)? If you think about it long and hard, you'll determine that certain things happened just so in order for you to meet.
Beyond personal relationships, though, everything we do and everything that happens to us can be meant for a greater good. Perhaps I can rephrase Mr. Bludworth's lament:
"In Life there are no accidents. No coincidencess. No mishaps. Everything happens for a reason.
"From the minute you're born into this world...God has a great plan for you.
"Every single move we make, from the mundane to the monumental... the red light we stop at, or run; the airplane we ride, or walk out of... is all a part of God's grand design leading you to great things.
True, we only have a limited time here. But that limited time is time enough to make a big impact. The game can be wonderful and rewarding, or it can be dismal and bleak. Learn to see the truth of the two forces that are really running this world, and leading your life; and understand that there is hope in a powerful ally.
A few weeks ago, I caught the beginning of the movie "Final Destination." It begins with a class of students boarding a plane for France for a student trip. One of the students has a vision of the plane exploding. Already seated on board, he begins to panic and manages to get off the plane, along with 5 or 6 other students who are disturbed by his display. Once they are off the plane, it takes off and...you guessed it...explodes just off the runway. The rest of the movie is about Death picking off the rest of his quarry, one-by-one.
Death, as the prescient student determined, had been cheated, and was now finishing the job.
This premise is developed a bit later in the film when we meet an undertaker named Mr. Bludworth (it is a horror movie, remember). He, who has spent so much of his life dealing with death, unravels the Grand Design for us:
"In Death there are no accidents. No coincidencess. No mishaps. And no escapes.
"From the minute you're cut loose from the womb...it's a one way ticket on a trip to the tomb.
"Every single move we make, from the mundane to the monumental... the red light we stop at, or run; the airplane we ride, or walk out of... is all a part of Death's sadistic design leading to the grave."
"Death is like big Milton Bradley game of "Mouse Trap." The day you're born is just the boot, hanging from the streetlamp, kicking the marble to get things rolling. Growing up is only the marble rolling down the curving chute. You feel immortal having survived school, sex, drugs 'n' rock 'n' roll, but you've really only upset the big hand holding the steel ball that falls into the bathtub. Marriage and kids and career seem to make it all worthwhile until the ball hits the see-saw and flips the diving man into the big barrel. In the old folks home or the hospital you just see the big cage rattling down until it captures the mouse. Game over."
(OK, the depressing part is over, you can open your eyes...)
Whoa! Sounds like Mr. Bludworth has a bad case of the-glass-is-half-empty downers! I have to admit, there are times when my attitude is dismal and my output as bleak. I'm sure most people have asked at some point: "What's it all for, when the end is the same, and inevitable?" It's easy to get caught up in the realm of the self and ignore the big picture.
I believe there are dark forces at work in the world, constantly pushing it towards increased hatred, violence, oppression, and other such intangibles rooted in selfishness. But I believe, also, that there are good forces at work here, too. I think another movie can be referenced here to illustrate this: The Lord of the Rings. (I'll quote the movie, since I have yet to find the patience for the novel.)
Frodo Baggins is on a journey to destroy the One Ring which was forged in evil, hatred, oppression, and all those other forces mentioned earlier. At one point, Frodo laments that such a thing exists and that such a task has fallen on him. How, with all the bad around, with Sauron's and Sauromon's armies gathering to destroy freedom-loving Middle Earth, can there be any hope for him, the smallest of the small?
His friend Gandalf assures him: "There are other forces at work in this world Frodo besides the will of evil."
Our lives are not meant only for the grave. Each of us is meant to accomplish great things to the benefit of our fellow man. And there are forces in place to help us get there. I believe it is God who sets up certain coincidences in our lives...the people we meet, the person we marry, the children we have. I know that I have the friends that I do for a reason. These people have all played an important part in who I have become and who I am becoming, whether they know it or not. I know that they are important to me and to the work that God has ready for me sometime in the future.
Think about it for a minute. How did you come to know your spouse (assuming you're married)? If you think about it long and hard, you'll determine that certain things happened just so in order for you to meet.
Beyond personal relationships, though, everything we do and everything that happens to us can be meant for a greater good. Perhaps I can rephrase Mr. Bludworth's lament:
"In Life there are no accidents. No coincidencess. No mishaps. Everything happens for a reason.
"From the minute you're born into this world...God has a great plan for you.
"Every single move we make, from the mundane to the monumental... the red light we stop at, or run; the airplane we ride, or walk out of... is all a part of God's grand design leading you to great things.
True, we only have a limited time here. But that limited time is time enough to make a big impact. The game can be wonderful and rewarding, or it can be dismal and bleak. Learn to see the truth of the two forces that are really running this world, and leading your life; and understand that there is hope in a powerful ally.
1 Comments:
At 8:06 PM,
Elizabeth said…
yes, this is very true...but sometimes God brings into our lives suffering and pain, and even when the world sees the believer fall to a terrible demise, and enemies and friends alike scorn you, it is still for the greater good. so i totally agree.
sometimes it is so hard to see how God has placed a certain act in our lives for the greater good of His people, (eventually to His glory), because He is the epitamy of Good. He IS Good. and sometimes it's so hard to understand His Good when things are not all daisies and butterflies...
good post.
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