Stranger than Fiction with Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney
Coming up on the Men at the Movies Podcast, I talk with Britt about one of his favorite movies of all time, Stranger than Fiction. Stories like this one force us to look at ourselves and ask what are we doing with our lives. Like Harold, when we face the truth of our mortality, we realize what matters most and what makes life meaningful. And when our life is worth living, our death is not a tragedy. “Little did he know” changes everything, so join us as we discover God’s truth in this movie.
Quotes
Like the narrator, God will intentionally disrupt your life with His voice..
Good stories will force us to look at ourselves and ask, “What am I doing with my life?”
When we live out of fear, our lives become meaningless.
The Bible model is that people are called away from normal into something that is scary, doesn’t make sense.
The truth is we are all dying. We aren’t promised tomorrow.
When you live like you are dying, you understand what matters most.
It’s important to know what type of story we are in.
We have to explore and find the author. No one else can do it for us.
The story is not up to us. We are not the author.
The life that he lived made his death worth dying.
He knew his life was worth living, and that made his sacrifice mean something.
When we meet the author, we understand what our life means.
Themes
The power of story
Normal life that gets interrupted/disrupted by an outside voice. What we normally do is dismiss it. Why do we hold onto a life that can be devoid of meaning and purpose?
Stories force us to look at ourselves and ask what we are doing with our lives.
In stories, you can’t always trust the narrator. The voice is giving you their perspective and interpretation of the story.
We think we drive the story, that the ending is up to us.
How do we respond when God’s voice interrupts our lives?
Purpose is to examine, disrupt, discover meaning and purpose.
Our response is to medicate, dismiss, avoid it, hope it goes away.
God promises something more for us
It helps us understand what type of story we are in.
God will move the plot along.
“Little did he know,” invites mystery, means that there’s something we don’t know. Humbling and exiting.
Tragedy vs comedy: Just because he’s going to die doesn’t make it a tragedy. The ending she writes gives his life meaning.
Resources
Live Like You Were Dying by Tim McGraw
Memento mori-”remember that you have to die”
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” -Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT)
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” -Matthew 16:24-26 (NLT)
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” - 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NLT)
“But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.” -2 Peter 3:10 (NLT)
Questions
When has God disrupted your life with His voice?
How would you describe your normal life?
What meaning and purpose do you have?
What would you do if you believed your time was limited and your death was imminent? How would your life change?
How can you make today matter?
What kind of story are you in?
How can you apply “Little did he know” to your current situation?
Is your life a comedy or a tragedy? How would you define it?
Are you driving the plot, or is it coming to find you?
What life is worth living? Are you living it?
What would it be like to pursue the life you always wanted to live?
Are you going to lose your life for something that means something?
What sort of death do you desire?
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Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster
Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston
Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).
Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock.
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