I’m back in Nashville after a two-week trip that included ministering to leaders at Every Nation Church in London, visiting my son in Oxford, and training church planters in South Africa. It also included the usual flight delays and monstrous airport security lines.
One of my airplane books for this trip was Tim Keller’s King’s Cross, a study of the life of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. According to Keller, when Mark says Jesus spoke “with authority” it is like saying Jesus is speaking as the author. The New Testament word translated “authority” means “out of the original stuff” and comes from the same root word as the word “author.”
Authors write as the final authority of their stories. They create the characters, the plot, the conflicts and they determine how the story ends.
I like the idea that Jesus is the author of my story. He is the one writing the script of my life, including the good times and the tough times. It is all his idea and as the author, he is completely in control of the outcome.
The writer of Hebrews calls him the “author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)
I am thankful that the Author of my story has included chapters that contain comedy, action, adventure, romance, mystery, and even tragedy. (Thankfully no sci-fi or horror, yet.) And I can’t wait to read and live the next few chapters.
