God, Storyteller
Originally posted on CatholicEditors.com.
Why?
“Why what?” you ask.
Well, why everything? Why are we here? Why did God make us?
Why did God allow sin to enter the world, and why does He allow evil to exist?
Why conquest, war, famine, and death? Why crime, corruption, taxes, and tyranny?
Why do I have enemies? Why do my friends forsake me?
Why so much conflict?
Because life wouldn’t be a good story without it.
What’s the Bible? A collection of stories — true stories. We have the rebellion in heaven. The fall of man. Noah’s ark and the great flood. Moses delivering God’s people out of Egypt. David and Goliath. David fleeing King Saul, who sought to kill him. David fleeing his own son, Absalom, who usurped his throne.
Talk about conflict . . .
We then have the story of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who was born in the filthy stables. As a baby, Jesus was taken by Mary and Joseph to Egypt to avoid being murdered by the power-hungry King Herod. We have the ministry of Jesus Christ. His betrayal by one of the twelve apostles. His public execution to appease the corrupt religious authorities. His horrible death on the cross. And His glorious resurrection, which forever changed the course of history.
Like all good stories, there’s conflict in life. But life isn’t just any story. Life is the story written by God.
Yet more like a “choose your own adventure” book, we write a little of the story ourselves. We face our own battles in this war — with the Devil, with the flesh, and with ourselves. In the end, did we stand with the Protagonist? Or did we succumb to the ways of the Antagonist? One day, the whole world will know the choices we made.
Why, you ask? Because life is a story, and every story worth telling needs conflict. It’s what makes stories real. It’s what makes this life real. It’s what makes us real.
God is a storyteller — and a darn good one, at that!
