Chasing after something bigger

As Twisters blows through cinemas, Ivan Radford asks what we’re pursuing in our lives.

'I don't chase anymore,' says Kate, a meteorologist who studies storm patterns for a living. But from the very first gust in Twisters, out now in cinemas, we know it’s only a matter of time until she is drawn back into the world of storm-chasing.

Storm chasers – once a niche group of weather enthusiasts – became a mainstream phenomenon in 1996, when the blockbuster Twister introduced the world to the notion of researchers following tornadoes around in an attempt to understand them better. 

While disaster movies have long been a popular way for people to safely process fears – fears that have become all the more prescient given the escalating climate crisis - it’s no surprise that 28 years after that blockbuster’s whirlwind success, a sequel should blow its way on to the big screen.

Twisters, like the original, isn’t just a daunting tale of increasingly severe storms, but a story rooted in a timeless fascination with people who are committed to pursuing something no matter the cost. Kate finds herself back in storm-chasing circles when she crosses paths with Tyler, who posts videos of his dangerous excursions online. They share a passion and a focus. It’s not a hobby, but an all-consuming drive.

‘Why do you do what you do?’ is one of the most revealing questions you can ask someone. As Christians, it’s one that we should ask ourselves every day. Philippians reminds us that ‘in your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus’ (2:5 International Children’s Bible). Not just on a Sunday, or when we remember, but to root our every thought, word and deed in Jesus.

Earlier in that letter, Paul asks some revealing questions of his own: ‘Does your life in Christ give you strength? Does his love comfort you? Do we share together in the Spirit? Do you have mercy and kindness?’ (Philippians 2:1 ICB). The answer to all those can only be yes if we seek God’s Kingdom before anything else.

Right back in Matthew, when Jesus first called his disciples, he gave them one initial instruction: ‘Come, follow me’ (4:19). That call didn’t stop after they took their first steps in his wake. It didn’t stop when things got tough or when they were buffeted by fears and doubts. They were committed to intentionally following Jesus no matter the cost. Their focus and motivation were one and the same.

John Gowans summed it up profoundly in his chorus: ‘To be like Jesus,/ This hope possesses me,/ In every thought and deed,/ This is my aim, my creed’ (SASB 328). The lyrics go on to note that Christlikeness is only possible with God’s ‘Spirit helping me’, but it’s the second line that carries the gale force strength of the calling that God’s faithful love instils in us. 

It’s not a hobby, but an all-consuming desire to a single, simple yet unfathomably complex goal. This ongoing pursuit brings out our unique personalities as diverse individuals made in God’s image, but we are shaped by Christ and united by – possessed by – a shared conviction to keep drawing closer to Jesus.

Why do you do what you do? Are you still chasing God in your everyday? Does the hope of being like Jesus possess you?

Reflect and respond

Amid the maelstrom of this broken, busy world, take a minute to pause in the stillness of God’s presence.

• How like Jesus are you in your words?
• How like Jesus are you in your actions?
• How like Jesus are you in your thoughts?

Ask God for a fresh wind of strength, comfort, mercy and kindness.