Sometimes, for fun, I
enjoy reading Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Foul Series. Mr. Colfer has done a
masterful job at developing his characters. In my opinion he has done an
especially good job at developing the character “Mulch Diggums” who happens to
be an unsavory dwarf who lives a life of crime. What makes Mr. Colfer’s
character so interesting is that “Mulch Diggums” is very life-giving at times.
He actually cares about others and will sacrifice his own needs or goals for
the benefit of others, even though he is a criminal.
Now this is nothing new in
character development, that is, to have a criminal be loved by the reader and
to be life-giving in some of their character traits. The heroic outlaw Robin
Hood in English folklore is much the same. The criminal Mulch Diggums is only
life-giving at times though because of one reason: Eoin Colfer, his creator.
Only Mr. Colfer knows how
to bring the best out of this thief who tunnels under the foundations of the
homes of the very wealthy and steals their heirlooms. Mr. Colfer is the master
at changing Mulch’s heart at just the right time to cause him to be unselfish
and help others without reward. Inside of Mulch Diggums’ character, his author
built not the heart of a criminal, but the real heart of someone who truly
cares for others, a life-giving heart. Mulch’s life of crime does not really
reflect who he is at heart, but since Mulch can’t seem to control himself, his
creator, Mr. Colfer, puts him in situations that bring out the best in him.
These are the scenes when we see who Mulch really wants to be.
I believe Christ followers
are much the same way. Because our spirit has been created new in Christ
through Holy Spirit's transformation, we are different inside. We have the mind
and heart of Christ, see 2 Corinthian 5:17. However, we can have ‘strongly
held’ lifestyles that keep us Christ followers from being our real life-giving
selves. Sometimes we think more ‘Christian activity’ alone will change us and
it does have benefits. Regardless,
we still need the one who created our character to write a new story line for
us, one that fits who we really are.
A new scene in which we
are set up for success, a scene that causes the life-giving nature inside of us
to shine the best. Our author and creator always writes ahead of our current
lines. He is looking at our current situations, then writing new scenes and
lines to help us be life-giving. Scenes to live out and lines to speak that
express our heart of love. However just like Mulch Diggums, the new
scripts may not be what we are use to or even what we want to do, yet, they are
written by our loving author and creator for our best performance. He wants us
all to have an ‘Emmy Award’ or two for ‘best performance’ on our mantles at
home. He loves us that way. He’s our biggest fan.
Unlike Mulch Diggums, we
have something that Mulch does not have, a ‘human will’. And unlike Mr.
Colfer, God cannot and will not violate it. He can only work with it. Unlike
Mulch we get to ‘choose’ if we want to play along within the scenes our loving
savoir is writing ahead of us. We can choose to play out the scenes by faith
just as they come, or we can write our own.
In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis once wrote, “It is something like that
with Christ and us. The more we get what we call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and
let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become”. You have scenes and
lines waiting for you.
Consider each scene and
each line from the ‘life-giving approach’ to create your best performance.
Make today your
masterpiece!
And thank you for reading,
Alex Anderson
Repost if you like.
Alex
Anderson copyright 2012
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