Author and Finisher

Fa-So-La-La

I was reading this week in school about the archetypal elements without which no story is satisfying-- the patterns that draw us in and stick with us most, the themes of a truly satisfying story. Reading this list I realized that every last one of them is present in the Gospel story--

First of all is the most basic, the birth-coming of age-struggle-maturation-death story. This is seen not only in Christ's life, but also figuratively in our lives, starting with the new birth and moving on through spiritual maturation.

Then there is the quest/journey storyline-- present in our search for the truth.

And the pursuit-capture-rescue-escape story-- this one's obvious!

It is a love story-- with not just 'ordinary' love (that of Christ and His Bride), but also unrequited love (the love of the Saviour for fallen sinners) and forbidden love (our love of sin that must be overcome).

It is an adventure story, with riddles, mystery, sacrifice, discovery, temptation, loss and gain of identity, metamorphosis, transformation, descent to a lower world, and even some figurative dragon-slaying!

And, best of all, it even ends in a wedding, which as every informed person knows is the only truly satisfactory way to end a story............. ;-)

So what does this tell us?
It makes me think that God is truly a master artisan, who wrote His own story with care and consideration. Maybe this is a little odd, but it is a truly fascinating line of thought! The fact that God created and that He created beautifully is a mandate to His children to also create beautifully. To be conformed to the image of the Creator involves being creators ourselves, and loving and delighting in excellent and well-made things just as he delighted in the excellence of His creation.