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We Are Not Storyless!

The Author has never lost control or taken a back seat in his writing. His will is always moving forward. So who are you, O Character, to claim you know better than the Author what is needed in his story?
Christopher Miller | Mar 26, 2013 | No comments |

ancient-bookStoryless – the word struck me like a two-ton bomb out of the midnight sky. “Being without a story.” What a dreadful word for an author to dwell on. What would the world be without story? I shudder just typing it. I love stories. I can’t imagine living life without one. And yet that is precisely what many would have us believe about our own lives.

Case in point: just last week I had an exchange with a friend on Facebook who has abandoned his “childish” faith in Christ and “grown up” into an atheist. With his big boy pants firmly tightened around his waist, he now fires shots at his Christian friends in hopes that they will engage him in discourse. Many do. I’ve often avoided it because I know it’s only intended to antagonize people, but I set my better judgement aside for once and decided to jump in. I’m glad I did.

It seems, my friend has convinced himself (as every atheist ultimately must) that all morals are myth – fables fashioned by mere mortals to deceive other mortals into living in peace with each other. For them, believing in God is about as effective as an ostrich sticking its head in the sand. Oh, there may be a grain of truth here and there in all religions but Christianity (like the others) is nothing more than bedtime stories devised to scare us into being “good” (as if there is such a thing as good or bad without a God).

Simply put, my friend is living as if there is no Story. As if the world he populates is a blank sheet, spawned by some random blank sheet bang that came from nothing. For him, the laws of order in the universe are really nothing more than laws of chaos. It’s about as believable as a book that writes itself, if you ask me. He chooses to believe in this nonsense because the alternative is that there IS order, there ARE laws and he IS subject to the authority of the Author. He chooses to believe and worship “nothing” because the only other option frightens him.

And so, I say, he is living a storyless life. (Shudder…there’s that word again.) He cannot accept the fact that he is written intentionally and for a purpose; that there is a loving Author who does not make mistakes.

Thank God that Scriptures tell us a different story. They show us that there is a plan for all men; a reason for both good and evil. It claims that we are part of a story in which every one of our days is known and determined, the ending of which is already written.

Psalm 139:13-16 – “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
”

One cannot read the Bible at face value and deny the fact that all throughout its pages, it boldly claims there is a great story at work. The Author has never lost control or taken a back seat in his writing. His will is always moving forward.

But how, you may ask, can I claim this when so much evil and suffering abounds in this world? Is the Author evil?

Let me answer with another question. Who are you, O Character, to claim you know better than the Author what is needed in his story?

As an author, I don’t ask my characters for permission to let them suffer or face evil. I know the troubles they face will ultimately be for their good. I don’t revel in the difficulty, but without trials their overcoming would not nearly be as good. We do not know what is good for us. Our perspective is two dimensional, the Author alone has the full picture.

As Randy Alcorn puts it in his book If God is Good, “How many of us would have chosen to leave the warmth and security of our mother’s womb for a world of noise, bright lights, cold, hunger, and thirst? Think how much we gave up when we left the womb. Yet, knowing what you know now, would you want to go back?”

The story is perfect. We can trust the Author to do what is best. But the best part of all is that we, the characters, are not left alone in this Story and our struggles. The Author has not abandoned our book, leaving us on the shelf after having so loving penned it. He has done something more wonderful than any other author ever could. He has written himself into it, to live among its pages and with its characters. He has not spared himself from the darkest parts. He has not asked us to go through anything he has not himself overcome.

No, the Author has written this story in his own blood. And so, we cannot fault him for the plot twists we don’t like. No man has suffered more than he has.

The Story, HIS story, is always at work.

Life is not meaningless. For those who trust the Author, we can live with confidence and hope. We don’t have to live a storyless life. And that is something worth believing.

I’m glad for the Story. Are you?

Christopher Miller
Story matters. As the balder half of the Miller Brothers writing duo, Christopher is convinced that his receding hairline is actually a solar panel for brilliant thought. While the science behind this phenomenon is sketchy (at best) one thing is undeniable – his mind is a veritable greenhouse of crazy story ideas. Oh, he's also the co-author of three award-winning youth fiction novels (The Miller Brothers) and newly released novel based on a video game and a pair of children's books. Their books are written for kids and adults who aren't afraid of adventure. His hobbies include dating his wife, raising three children and providing for his family through copywriting, web design and launching a free to read platform for novelists called BookJolt.com. One day, Chris and his brother hope to delve deeply into the realm of interactive fiction.
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Kerry Nietz
Member
Kerry Nietz

Good post, Christopher. I enjoyed that. Well said.

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6 years ago
Christopher Miller
Author
Christopher Miller

Thanks, Kerry. It has been a delight to find the Story at work in my own life everyday. It also encourages me when times are tough. I know there are greater chapters still ahead and the trials are worth fighting through.

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6 years ago
Galadriel
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Galadriel

Definitely glad for it. It’s bad enough being without story ideas for class–it’d be horrible to have no narrative for life.

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6 years ago
Christopher Miller
Author
Christopher Miller

I agree. May we never be storyless!

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6 years ago
Paul Lee
Member
Paul Lee

Thank you for the encouragement.  Even as a very staunch theist, firmly convinced of the absurdities of the notion of chaotic chance creating order, I do find it hard to believe that life is as meaningful and directed as any story written by humans.  Often fantasy does seem better than reality, and story people seem to have more meaningful lives than many ordinary first-world people do.

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6 years ago
Christopher Miller
Author
Christopher Miller

I would argue that the Story we live in is infinitely more complex and epic than any “hyped up made-for-tv drama” we are used to consuming. Sure, we have our mundane moments…but on the whole our lives are beautifully crafted. The Bible claims that those who put their faith in Christ will one day receive their reward.
2 Tim 2:11-13 “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.”
We will all be kings and queens of the new world someday. It doesn’t get more epic or meaningful than that.
 
 
 

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6 years ago
Beverly Miller
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Beverly Miller

As I unpack all my belongings that have been stored for 3 years while living in the Middle east, I see so much of my story, adventure, I have lived and forgot. As I live my “story” day by day  I am so close that I do not realize the adventure I have been dropped into. I wonder what is coming next. I take the steps through each day – but the AUTHOR is writing the story – bringing new people and experiences my way, and I choose what I will do with each new interaction based on the guide book – THE SCRIPTURES. Exciting journey!

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6 years ago
Gillian Bronte Adams
Member
Gillian Bronte Adams

“He has written himself into it, to live among its pages and with its characters. He has not spared himself from the darkest parts. He has not asked us to go through anything he has not himself overcome.
No, the Author has written this story in his own blood. And so, we cannot fault him for the plot twists we don’t like. No man has suffered more than he has.”

Wow. That is a beautiful thought. Left me speechless for a moment. Thanks for writing this post, Christopher. I think being a writer has helped me begin to understand a little of what it means for God to be the Author of life, and to understand that sometimes suffering and pain are tools He uses to shape the “characters.”

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6 years ago
R. J. Anderson
Member
R. J. Anderson

A lovely, thoughtful post that makes some important points. Thank you for writing it.

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6 years ago
  • FREE SUBSCRIPTION: download every issue
  • Find the best Christian fantastic novels
  • Join book clubs and connect with other fans
NEW: Order print issues online!
Advertise Seek Review Library Add a Novel Feedback

Daily articles from SpecFaith

latest articles | archives | statement of faith
News tips Suggestions

Evil Is a Dangerous Beauty
| Brandon M. Wilborn, Dec 13

How to Face the Devil in Combat, Part 1
| Travis Perry, Dec 12

What Was God Thinking?
| Mark Carver, Dec 11

The Impossible That God Alone Can Do
| Rebecca LuElla Miller, Dec 9