“The Transporter,” part two

Don’t you just love movies? I do. I like the ones where the good guys are good, the bad guys are bad, and after some twists and turns (and a good car chase would be nice) the good guys win and kiss the girl, while the bad guys come to bad ends.

What I like about the Transporter is how good he is: he’s a very good “good guy” (notwithstanding some illegal activities). He does what is expected of him, and he does it with unsurpassed excellence. He’s always calm, because he knows he can handle whatever the “bad guys” throw at him and still save the day. He even transforms violence into a dance.

I used to try to live my life that way, too. I was a little smug in my confidence that I could be an excellent “good girl.” That I could win people to Jesus through my goodness. How long do you think that lasted? About 30 years? But here’s the secret: I was never really that good. Nor was my life particularly characterized by love, joy and peace. It was boring, safe and isolated from the world. No car chases, no daring feats, no rescuing those oppressed by the enemy. No need for the ultimate stuntman. My story was all about me.

It was a quiet, safe, dull little story that would never change anyone’s life. Whenever I did something wrong, made a mistake, or failed, I cut that part out of the script, so that my main character would look good. I wanted everything to look good, to be tidy.

It’s really hard to keep that up. I ended up with a lot of guilt and oppression, a lot of “should” and “ought to.” My movie sucked. Whenever I read those verses in Romans 12, I felt bad about not measuring up instead of feeling empowered by them. But Jesus said it would be easy to be a Christian. He did. In Matthew 11:29 & 30, he said “My yoke is easy and my burden is light. You will find rest for your souls.” And then he told Paul to write all of that stuff about forgiving anyone who offends you and living in harmony and joy. What?!

Then I read a book that changed my life. Everything onscreen shifted from being about me to being about God. Suddenly I understood that God wanted to make a new story out of the old: a story that highlighted some of my biggest failures instead of covering them up. And he wanted a casting shift too: a new hero. Instead of me being the main character of my life, he was. Suddenly my crummy little movie was an action-romance, with the ultimate stuntman.

With God as the director/screen-writer, the whole story of my life shifted from being about me to being about him. Instead of focusing on myself and trying to be good because I “should,” I could focus on him and not worry about my reputation. Now when I see the movie of my life, I weep, it is so beautiful. Shifted, my story is all about hope and grace and love and redemption, and I’m grateful he has made the ugliness into romance, and the dullness into bright action.

And it frees me to behave “good,” without pressure or threat of condemnation. Because he has been sincere to me, I can be sincere. Because he has been patient with me, I can be patient with irritating others. Because he has forgiven me all my offenses, I can forgive anyone who offends me. Because he has blessed me, I can bless, and not curse, those who annoy me or persecute me.

God is the ultimate stuntman. There is nothing too hard for him to make spectacular.

What in your life’s story would you like God to transform from burdensome to spectacular? What kind of movie do you want God to make out of your life? Are you willing to let him?