Life Unscripted

Living in a media saturated culture has an effect on how we see life. Because we have seen so many movies and watched so much television, it seems to have tainted everything about us. We quote lines that we have heard in films and on television. We wear had-me-down fashions that have appeared on celebrities. Our schedules revolve around what time our favorite shows are on the telly. We rehearse situations as though we are actors or actresses preparing for some climactic scene.

This media obsession can easily color the way we view Scripture. Instead of understanding it as a record of the lives of ordinary people, we approach it as some kind of epic. When we come to stories such as the Woman Taken In Adultery in John 8 we forget that this is a narrative and we consider it as a production. In our minds it is as though a director began John 8 by saying, “Okay people. Today we’re recording John 8. I trust you’ve all studied your lines. I don’t want a lot of ad libbing—after all this is Scripture. As you hopefully know from the script, this is a big conflict scene between the Pharisees and Jesus. Now, those of you in the crowd, I want you to act shocked when they bring the woman on the stage. Where is my woman caught in adultery? Is she back from wardrobe? Good—Okay, doll. When the Pharisees drag you in, I need you to look terrified. Where’s Jesus? Jesus! Come over here. Now, big guy, I need for you to be “in the zone” WHEN THE Pharisees bring this gal and throw her at your feet. You’re not intimidated by these guys—you know what they’re doing! Okay, everyone think they’ve got it? Places, everyone—Okay, cue the rising sun. People start gathering on the temple set and action!”

Believe it or not, this was not how it happened. God’s Word records for us the events as they unfolded. The writers are simply bearing witness—testifying to what they have observed. The people who appear in the Bible accounts did not have advance notice of the day’s events. They did not know at the time that their words and actions were going to be recorded for us. There was no script memorization, no rehearsals, and no search for the motivation of the characters. No, the Bible is a “real time” document. It is reality television without the television.

Each day is not a rehearsal for the rest of our lives. Today is not a dress rehearsal for life—it is life. There is no preparation for ministry—preparation is ministry. We spend so much of our time and invest so much of our energy in preparing for the next big thing and there isn’t always a next big thing looming in the dawn. Each day, each hour, each moment is life. There is no pause button. Life is real time. And, for good or for harm, you and I encounter life’s events as they occur. We do not have the luxury of reviewing the filming schedule for tomorrow. We cannot ask to see the script. (Some would tell you there is no script.) Either way, we “do not know what will happen tomorrow” (James 4:14).

So, since we know that we don’t have the luxury of memorizing our lives, does this resign us to haphazard living? Yes and no. Not knowing the exact route does not mean that we do not know the destination. Not knowing the play by play does not mean that we do not understand how to play the game. And, having accumulated a bunch of knowledge through the course of our lives thus far, we have a wealth of knowledge to draw from for today.

Best of all, we have today. We don’t know the entire screenplay, so we can’t know for certain how close to the end we are, but we have today. We may or may not have had our heroic moment, but we have today.