The art of storytelling gives children a basic framework for understanding truth as well as the courage to live and tell about it. Over the next few days, I’ll post six important things to know about great stories! Here is #1 and #2.
1. All great stories have a “joyous turn,” the point at which you think the “bad guys” are going to win the day and good is going to be vanquished forever, and suddenly, everything changes! The incarnation of Christ is the “joyous turn” in the human story, and the “joyous turn” of the incarnation story is the resurrection. It is the decisive moment at which everything changes – death is defeated, God’s new creation is ushered in, and from this point forward, the enemy’s end is certain. All good, engaging stories work like this! There’s always a conflict, victory seems all but lost, and often when you least expect it, there’s a joyous turn. Well, Stephen King doesn’t work that way, but twisted horror stories are so excellent because they play on our expectation that the story should have a joyous turn.
2. Life itself may be best understood as a story, and we understand our own place in God’s kingdom better when we understand that we are characters or players in the Author’s larger epic. For this reason, good stories illustrate a deep and profound truth about all of life – there is hope to be had in this world, despite all appearances, because the last great enemy has been defeated and resurrection awaits both believers and the entire creation. The great joyous turns of life are written into life’s very fabric. As Luther has said, “Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection not in books alone but in every leaf in springtime.”
Tomorrow, I’ll post #2 and #3. By the way, these points are largely based on Andrew Peterson’s lectures that he gave for the Institute for Christian Worship at Southern Seminary in February of this year. Here are links to the audio versions of his two lectures.
- What If?: The Place of Imagination in God’s Kingdom (Download)
- So What?: The Place of Imagination in God’s Kingdom (Download)
Thanks to Mike Crowe for taking great notes!
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