Being Well Endowed

Ever wonder what will be said of you after you die? Most funerals have a time of testimony where those in attendance share about the great things the deceased have done. These consist of positive memories, funny stories, or even the impact their belated loved one has had while living in their world. Without sounding too morbid, I hope my funeral will be difficult and hard on those who attend. Mountains of Kleenex will abound as the tears flow missing me. The time of testimony I hope will be forcefully cut short, as people cannot stop sharing the meaning and ever lasting effect I’ve brought to their world.

In his new book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller says that part of living a memorable life (or a life that others will want to be a part of and hear about), is to let your life tell a good story. The elements to telling a good story according to Miller isn’t that complicated, and can be boiled down to one sentence. To tell a memorable story, the character must want something, and overcomes conflict to get it.

With that said, I wonder about one of the most famous stories of all time: the life and times of Jesus Christ. The gospel of John says that Jesus left such an enormous legacy, that it’s impossible to pen all of his endowment (John 21:25). I wonder… if we apply Donald Miller’s elements of a great story to the life of Christ, do the gospels depict the world’s Savior as a character with a goal who experiences opposition while attempting to accomplish his mission? If so, what is this goal, and what sorts of thing stand in his way? And lastly, how does Jesus overcome his opposition?

What about you? When you read the Gospels of Christ, do you find any of the above questions applicable to the life of Christ? If so, how might those questions be presented?