Epic!

Hey guys!

 Sorry we are behind on these! I was out of town doing some continuing education in regard to the Teaching Family Model, and then Halloween busyness just got the best of me, but I’m back (at least until the Christmas rush! LOL!)

For the next several weeks, I wanted to look at the story of the gospel as presented in different tv shows/movies/books. Because the salvation story is such an important one, we often see it presented in modern-day tales, either directly or indirectly. In fact, in his book Epic, John Eldredge posits that most every story, and certainly those truly epic ones, follow the same story line as God’s plan for humanity. We have Act One, which is the eternal love that God has always had for us; Act Two, which is the entrance of evil (the introduction of the serpent and sin); Act Three, the battle for the heart (humanity’s failed struggle to try to solve the sin problem on our own and the ultimate sacrifice of Christ); and finally Act Four, the kingdom restored, which for us looks like an eternity in right relationship to God.

If we think of other stories, they also follow this story line. Let’s take the Disney version of Snow White as an example (just because it’s the version that I know best). We have the love story of she and Prince Charming (along with the lost relationship she had with her father), the entrance of the evil queen who out of jealousy and hate attempts to thwart the relationship by having Snow White killed, the battle—fought by the Dwarves, to chase the queen away (ultimately killing her), and then the restoration of the relationship, where Prince Charming comes to awaken Snow White with true love’s kiss.

Or, if you aren’t a Disney fan, we can go with something a little more fitting for this season—the Grinch whole Stole Christmas. We have the wonderful villagers of Whoville who love to take care of one another. Everyone is happy and whole, and then we have the entrance of the Grinch, who wants to come in and destroy the happiness. The battle happens as the town gathers and sings around the tree—this battle does not include a fight, but is rather a battle of will—the whovillians decide they can still have the joy of Christmas, and the Grinch is so moved that he changes his heart and finally restores Christmas, bringing the presents and tree back down the mountain.

This plot also works with other more adventurous stories like Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings, or ANY of the superhero movies, but I am not as confident in my retelling/synopsis abilities of these. But—if you know these movies well, think through them, and you will certainly find this story arc.

The coolest thing to me about this is that these are stories that we all loved as children. The movies or books that caused us to dream, inspired our art and play, and made us want to be better people—they are all based on the greatest story of all—and one in which our real-life part is already sealed. We have a role in this story, and its not even a sad little bit part like “tree #2.” We are the beloved!

God has loved us from the beginning of eternity, and sent Christ to come fight a battle for our souls. We have seen the sacrifice, and we are living in a kingdom partially restored as we are able to have access to God because of the work of Christ. But, the best news is that the kingdom is going to be even better. The Bible tells us of the glories of Heaven, and the way that the Earth will become new. Better than anything in any story, the Kingdom and Reign of God on Earth is not just a shadow of something else—it is the real thing. And we have the joy of being able to experience the true story that all other stories try to mimic.

Discussion Question—What is your favorite story? Do you see this storyline in it?