All the time there are three dramas that are being played out in this world. These three dramas are deeply related to each other. They influence each other. They add depth, direction, and purpose to each other. And taken together, the three dramas point boldly to a mystery and a love that are from God.

The three dramas might be named: The Big Picture, the Church’s Journey, and the Christian’s Story.

The Big Picture is the drama of God creating, redeeming, and perfecting the world. The drama of the Bible, in the most general sense, begins with the creation of nature and history. It continues with the election of Israel. Jesus Christ’s birth, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, and rule make up the center of the Big Picture. The Big Picture drama depicts God moving all of creation toward perfection, toward the return of Jesus Christ in glory, toward the coming of the New Jerusalem. Big Picture, indeed.

The second ongoing drama is the Church’s Journey. Coming out of Israel’s history, the Church’s Journey begins. Gathered, sustained, and directed by the Holy Spirit, the Church forms a people on the move, in mission and ministry, always following Jesus Christ. Through times of war and times of peace, poverty and prosperity, heresy and faithfulness, pessimism and optimism, disunity and unity, the Church journeys onward and upward toward the promised End.

While the Big Picture unfolds, while the Church journeys, the Christian’s Story is played out. The Christian is born of the flesh, then born of water and the Spirit. The Christian grows, matures, learns, receives a vocation (or two or three), participates in the life of a family, serves a neighborhood, becomes a citizen of a nation. The Christian, more or less, finds his or her way in the Church and in the world. Blessed with much and challenged by much, the Christian lives in response to the love, law, and will of God. This makes up each Christian’s Story.

Since the movie is so important to our time and place, it might be good to consider the three dramas in terms of various screens. The Big Picture appears on the huge screen of a drive-in. The Church’s Journey is a large, but smaller, picture that takes up a section, while the Big Picture plays around it. Then, inside the Church’s Journey, there are many little Christian Stories that are showing. All of these dramas are running at the same time -- on the screen and in reality.

Soon it will be Advent. During Advent, the Big Picture points to the coming of Christ in power and glory. Inside the Big Picture, the Church Story involves yearning and preparing for Christ’s return. And contained in the Church’s Story are millions of Christians who are living out their stories in response to what is promised by God.

During this season of Advent, we would do well to remember all three dramas in play. It is so easy to get consumed by our personal Christian Stories. But during these four weeks, recall as well the Church’s Journey and the Big Picture.