I love stories! Big stories, little stories, personal stories. Story seems to be the unquantifiable connection that glues humanity together. Stories have existed as long as humans have. It’s how we pass down our history, morality, and culture; everything that makes us who we are get’s passed down through stories. I don’t think it’s an accident that God gave us stories in the Bible rather than just a list of facts. Our creator knows us and how we operate.
One of my favorite books of all time talks about this overarching need for a story. It’s a book called Epic by John Eldredge. If you’ve been in the Christian world for any length of time, you probably know him for his book “wild at heart.” But Epic is a much smaller, quicker read and talks about how “Life is a Story.”
And the reason we do or don’t like a story is because of the truth it tells us. Throughout history, all stories that people love carry similar themes of struggle, good vs. evil, sacrifice, love, adventure, and so on. This is because we are struggling through these themes and trying to understand how our story will end. What is the dramatic conclusion of the story of our life?
I hate skipping to the end as a reader (I’ve only done it twice that I can remember), but as a human living this life day in and day out, I want to know, is it worth it? Is everything I’m going through in this life making any difference? Is it going to be worth it to traverse all the highs and lows for the way it all ends?
Thankfully, I know the ending, and the answer is yes, it’s worth it.
As Christians, we know the ending. We know that Jesus has already won. It’s not about winning the war at this point; it’s about how we face everyday battles. It’s the part of the story where you know how it will end, but you’re just not sure how it will get there.
It’s like watching a 10-season series, and a major cliffhanger happens at the end of season 5. You know the main character isn’t going to die; you’re just not sure how they’ll pull it off, so you keep going.
That’s where we’re at in the story right now. We know Jesus is coming back; we just don’t know when or how, and anyone who says they know how we get to the ending is writing their own story or reading a different book than me.
So, for now, we’re going season to season, wondering how the ending matches up and waiting for it all to make sense.
But that also doesn’t mean we do nothing. How boring would stories be if the characters just sat around waiting for the end? It doesn’t matter if you watch tv and movies or read books; that’s not a story I would want to watch, so why do we let our life flounder become a boring chapter of a fantastic story?
Don’t be that chapter.
So stories can help us understand how do we create habits that help us grow? How do we understand our faith? How do we talk about our faith? How do we love our enemies? Stories aren’t a substitute for scripture, but they help us understand deep living truth in more tangible ways, allowing us to apply truth to our lives and live it out.
So if you love stories, Imake sure you sign-up for my newsletter, follow me on social media, and hang out for a little.
Stay weird,
