Is Life a Movie?

Introduction

Have you ever thought of your life as a movie? In the story of your life, you’re not just the star, but the writer as well. Every choice you make, every interaction with people becomes part of the unfolding plot. The supporting cast—your family and friends—-the strangers you meet—all writing their own stories. All these narratives overlap, you affecting their stories, and them affecting yours.

But what happens if we take a step back and look at our movie from a totally different angle?  Not from inside the movie, where we’re living it out, moment by moment, but from the lens of eternity. Would it change the way we see our lives, and our relationships? How would it affect the way we view our purpose in life? Let’s take a look.

Time: Experiencing the Movie Frame by Frame

In our day-to-day lives, we experience life as if we were watching a film unfolding on a screen—frame by frame. It’s right here, right now. Time’s arrow moves us forward as we make decisions, react to events, and interact with one another. In the moment, the choices we make are ours. We can feel our free will. We write our own story as it happens.

This works the same way in music. If you’ve ever played, you know the importance of timing—locking in with the rhythm, getting in the groove. I’m a drummer, so I know this firsthand. When my old bandmates and I recently got together to record a song, every beat, every chord mattered. Caught up in that moment, we were fully immersed in the free and creative process. It’s a lot like living life in time. But we recorded it on a digital audio workstation (DAW) and the song was captured on a computer hard drive.

Eternity: It’s in the Can

Now, imagine stepping out of the theater—or away from the music—and looking at the finished product as a whole. The movie, or the song, is complete. Every scene, or every note, is already there. From this perspective, there’s no flow of time. Instead, everything exists all at once—the beginning, middle, and end.

This isn’t really a new concept. The idea aligns with Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity and what he called the Block Universe. Einstein’s work posits that time is part of a four-dimensional continuum, where all moments—past, present, and future—exist simultaneously. Like a finished movie reel, the Block Universe suggests that every frame is already “there,” even if we’re only experiencing one frame at a time.

Just because we’re currently immersed in the process of watching (or making) the movie as it unfolds doesn’t mean the rest of the story isn’t real. In Eternity, the entirety of the film—the beginning, middle, and end—is already complete. Here we are, experiencing life scene by scene, as if we were merely temporal. But the truth would be that our transient experience is really a part of eternity itself.

If this duality is reality, and all “frames” do actually exist in an “eternal now” even while we create them sequentially in time, how might that affect the way we understand our lives? If true, every frame holds eternal significance. It doesn’t diminish the present, it elevates it. It means that our life story is not just transitory, it’s eternal.

Let that sink in: Might this point of view—experiencing time as the unfolding of Eternity—reshape the way you approach your choices today?

 Our Responsibilities to One Another

If we’re all in this movie together, and it’s part of Eternity, we owe it to one another to make it the best production we can. The relationships we build, the kindness we show, and the forgiveness we offer—these are the moments that make the story worthwhile.

And every story overlaps into others. You may star in your own production, but don’t forget the small roles you play in every life you touch. Every choice we make has an impact on everyone we connect with, not just us. Just think of seeing the complete film from Eternity's point of view. There you see how the choices you made—big or small—affected someone else’s story. How proud will you be of the role you played? What if your small act of kindness turned out to be the pivotal scene in someone else’s story? It just might change the way you approach today’s moments.

Let’s say that each one of us has been writing our own stories. Who’s the producer of the film? Is there a director?  Is the film just an ad lib, ad hoc mess, or is there a divine narrative that we are all part of. This shared story calls us to reflect not only on our responsibilities to one another but also on the One who conceived this movie of life in the first place.

 The Trinity: God in the Movie and Beyond

If it turns out our movie is actually a divine narrative that not only unfolds within the film itself, but also exists in its entirety on high, the Trinity offers a unique lens to look at God’s presence in the story. Through the concept of the Trinity, we can see how God exists both outside time and within it and offers us a way to better understand the movie and the role we play.

• The Father: The producer of the film. He exists outside the film. He is not the author of each of our narratives, but without Him, there wouldn’t be any movie and there would be no stories to tell. 

• The Son: The real star of the show. He steps into the movie as a character, experiencing it sequentially, like us. Through His life, death, and resurrection, the Son becomes an active participant in the story, showing us how to live within it.

• The Holy Spirit: Our director. He is here with us in every frame. Perhaps all the dialogue in the film is ad lib, but the Holy Spirit is here to guide, inspire and empower as we write our stories. Without His direction, the film is likely to spiral into chaos. But with His guiding hand, we might strive together for something greater than ourselves. 

What do you think of looking at the Trinity like this? Does it help you see your part in the story of life more clearly?

 Living the Movie, Stepping into Eternity

So here we are, living one day—one frame—at a time, all the while the whole story already exists in eternity. Does it all mean something? It means that, rather than just here today and gone tomorrow, the relationships that we build, and the kindness we show to each other, and the burdens we bear for one another really are eternal. 

And what will we think of the film we made, woven together with one another and fashioned by our free will?  What will it be like to step outside this earthly existence and experience eternity in its fullness? 

These metaphors can help us examine concepts like time and eternity from a new vantage point, but the truth is almost certainly greater than anything we can imagine. It’s like trying to watch a ball game through a hole in the fence—we catch a glimpse, but it barely scratches the surface.

Whenever I see the world from a perspective that completely stuns me, I like to plant an anchor. So, I hold on to these five simple truths. They help me stay grounded:

• I’m a sinner

• I need a Savior

• Jesus is my Savior

• I need to love God

• I need to love people

I like to rely on these essentials that I can count on one hand. Between them and a true sense of wonder, I can live every frame with purpose, hope, and love. I hope it has the same effect on you.