Stories

1 Peter 1:10-12

We all love stories. Stories give us a birds-eye view of life. In 5 or 10 minutes we can hear of an adventure--the beginning, the struggles, the climax, the ending--that mirrors or is a microcosm of the adventure of life. I've told stories to my niece and nephews, and though they are usually very attentive listeners anyway, nothing draws them in more than when they find themselves in the story. If the rabbit with the cape or the talking dog has their name it takes on a whole new level of excitement. "Tell me a story and put me in it" is the cry of a child's heart.

And it is our cry as well. It is a cry that the Christian faith answers. Christianity is not a philosophy, though from its very inception when it was birthed at the great intersection of Jewish and Greek culture we have tried to make it one. Christianity is a story. "Tell me a story and put me in it"-- We all have a role to play in the unfolding of this great drama.

The problem is, we all want to be the main character. But the hero has already been cast. And it's not you or me. In fact the roles we play may often seem rather minor. As this passage indicates, the prophets were told quite frankly--"the story is bigger than you. You are only in the first act." But minor roles can play major parts. Serug, Peleg, Shelah (Luke 3:35)- had no idea that their great, great, great. . . grandson would be the Savior of the world.

So God tells us a story and puts us in it. Though for most of us the roles are very small. But when we see that the goal of our faith is the transformation of who we are, and that in fact the very unfolding of this story is what makes this transformation possible, we become happy to play whatever role God may have for us.