A New Year

Isaiah 60:1

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

            And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

The year 2010 (AD or CE) has come to completion. The curtain has dropped and the cast has taken the final bow. What part did you play in the theater of life this year? Were you the hero, the heroine, the antagonist, the protagonist, the victim or an extra? When reflecting upon the year many of us played many roles in the story of God. See, it’s not our story. It’s His story. This past year, we may have looked to see how God played a part in our life. I want to challenge you this year, 2011, to look at it differently. I challenge you to see what part you are playing in His story.

The Lord of heaven and earth has chosen you to be in His cast this year. He has set the stage, painted the backdrop of your life, and hung the lights. It’s His story. It’s time to hit your marks and speak your lines. Be prepared, God does a lot of improvisation with us. It’s not always mapped out and easy for us to follow. Sometimes we forget our lines or walk all over someone else’s part. But there’s no time for dress rehearsal, this is the real deal right from the start. In the midst of the life, we apologize for over playing our part or being disrespectful to the director. It’s called confession. The director responds with words of forgiveness and says the show must go on.

God’s story has been playing since the beginning of time for us and for Him, before there was even time to mark. God’s story is about love, sin, forgiveness, family, people, nations, wars, peace, life and death and life again. God has written this story through the actors themselves, in their lives and in the Scriptures. He is continually casting new players and there’s always room for more. He has roles for newborns, for rebels, for quiet and shy types, for the flamboyant, for the wise, for the simple, for the sick, for the strong, and for the dying.

It’s a new year. It’s God’s eternal story. Arise, shine, for your light, your time, your part has come. God has cast you as a player in His story. It’s your time to shine!

Heavenly Father, thank you for choosing me to play a role in your story. Fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I may play the part that you would have me play. In Jesus’ name, amen.