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Who I amReside in St. Louis Missouri currently, Lived in California & Colorado.Husband.Father.Pastor.Football Enthusiast.Teacher.Learner.Dreamer.Reader.Friend. [thoughts & comments blogged here are my reflections living life trusting Jesus as God]

Monday, October 08, 2012

What's in a Story?


This last month I've been having several musings that I'd like to blog about but they are too raw to try to flesh them out in this space....except this thought;

What is in a story?  A key character, a plot, a location & something terrible to happen right?  Or is it a story line with a surprising ending?  Maybe a conflict with no final resolution that allows the audience to create their own conclusion?

What if I make the statement that what's in a story doesn't really matter unless the story matters to you?  I would contend that if you care about certain authors, actors, directors, producers that create stories you'll consume what they create because you care about them.  Now for you to give your personal stamp of approval for the book or movie you consume there needs to be certain elements involved to keep you entertained.  But essentially everyone is a critic and everyone does have their own standard of "being entertained".

So what about the gospel?  The story of God redeeming all of humanity with pure selflessness and passion by atoning for sin.  The culmination of the curse of Genesis being absolved, the Exodus taking on an eternal rescue, the voice of the prophets being fulfilled and the kingdom of heaven having flesh on the ground.  The author doesn't change, the storyline doesn't change, the ending doesn't change, the key characters don't change but does the meaning?

How many times can you read the same book before it becomes boring?  How many times can you watch & re-watch that favorite movie before it feels stale?  How many times has it taken to hear the gospel story and say to yourself "yeah, yeah...I know this one"?  In our entertainment driven world & the "amuse me" factor that we all fall trap to it's no wonder many people who claim the gospel has radically altered their life have quit living that way.  

What's in a Story?  The Gospel Story is more than just a story, its THE STORY.  It's the moment where the DIVINE God, REDEEMED a broken humanity.  Where ATONEMENT and SANCTIFICATION take hold in our lives.  Where the key character is always JESUS and yet WE are pulled onto the MAIN stage.  This story is more than entertainment, but its life altering that has shook the world and will continue to do so.

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