Focused Living

Jesus: The sudden and unforeseen happy ending for the hopeless condition of man

In the early 1940s, the now-famous author JRR Tolkien coined the intriguing word, eucatastrophe, to describe happy endings in his stories such as the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Tolkien, being a student of language, added the Greek prefix “eu-”, meaning “good”, before catastrophe, turning this word’s meaning a full 180o. Whereas “catastrophe” refers to a sudden calamitous evil event, eucatastrophe, as conceived by Tolkien, was “the sudden happy turn in a story which pierces you with a joy that brings you to tears.”

The eucatastrophes in Tolkien’s stories occur when the outlook is bleak, and all hope is lost for the beloved character. There is no exodus from the proverbial “rock and a hard place”. And then… a eucatastrophe!

What a great word! And what a great word to describe the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Fourteen generations after the Jews’ return from exile, (Matt. 1:17), their story seemed mired in hopelessness. The crush of Roman oppression and the spiritually suffocating religion of the pharisees. And then…a eucatastrophe! Jesus Christ arrives on the scene – a sudden happy turn with eternal significance! His life was marked by power, compassion, and the promise of abundant eternal life. And even when the hope He offered seemed finally out of reach while He hung on the cross, God raised Him from the dead!

The breathtaking surprise was that His death was for the payment of our sins! Jesus, the perfect lamb, was slain for us. He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him. By His stripes we are healed…we are saved…made righteous in God’s sight! (Isaiah 53:4-5) It is by grace that the protagonist (you and me) has been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, as it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

May this sudden happy turn pierce you with joy once again. And may you lean into the transformative and eternal ramifications of this eucatastrophe for YOUR life!

Prayer Requests

Pray that the hundreds of men involved in Focused Living forums and GRIP will fully embrace the calling of Jesus Christ and follow him as "sold out" disciples. "Follow Me" is the theme for the forum meetings this season and the GRIP men are just finishing up their personal retreats. Pray also that they will be able to follow through with their action items via the gentle nudging and encouragement from their GRIP partner and the Holy Spirit.

Pray that the staff and board of Focused Living seek God's wisdom and abide by His instruction and direction on how the ministry is leveraged for the Kingdom.

Pray that God would continue His work in the hearts of the 119 men that are participating in the Fall GRIP Discipleship season and that each man would continue to disciple other men and be intentional in their outreach.

We thank God for his financial provision over the last 31 years and we live joyfully within His current provision for this ministry. As we close out the end of the FLM fiscal year, the ministry is currently -8.5% to the actual expenses, or -$19.3K (through August). The Focused Living fiscal year ends in September.