I am a movie junkie. So much so that when I go to movies (which has been three or four times a week), I sometimes forget what movie I’m actually seeing; mostly because I’m caught up in the previews of upcoming movies that I can’t see right then. I also dream of being the character in movies. And, when I say dream, I mean usually I obsess. Yea, I’m still a little kid inside who wants to go dress up like that character and save the world, or win the woman’s heart, or just be really, really, ridiculously cool.
Ever since I could understand what movies were and how awesome they could be, I was hooked. That moment for me would be the first time I saw Star Wars. What a great movie! I remember one time being so excited that it was on TV I convinced my parents to move our big floor model TV set around in the living room so I could watch it while taking a bath…I was 13…ok, I was 5. But, at 13, I was just as excited when it would be on. I would role-play scenes from my favorite movies throughout my childhood – Star Wars, Batman, Indiana Jones etc. My life, in many ways, was influenced by these movies. I often saw my life through the lens of epic scenes. But then, what child didn’t do this?
We all love stories – heart-moving, life-inspiring stories. I think in the deepest place of our heart, we all imagine ourselves as the characters from our favorite movies. We dream and escape to another place to be who we wish we could be. Because sometimes it just seems so much easier to live life in the movies – overcoming the obstacles, defeating the bad guy, or resolving the conflict with a lover.
But what if we didn’t have to escape to be that person? What if we could be the hero and live an epic life everyday? If you think about it, what we see in movies is everything we experience in life – struggle, pain, hope, redemption, love. I’m convinced that what God actually had in mind for us is an epic life…maybe not a life shown in cinematic splendor, but a life full of adventure with him and with others…a life that inspires and influences.
Whether you realize it or not, you are epic because God is an epic God and He writes epic stories…stories like yours.
