I want to tell you how to write a great story, and then I want to tell you how to write the greatest possible story. So if this subject interests you, be sure and read all the way to the bottom.
Some have called the story of Jesus, “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” I’d cast my vote that way. What makes the story of Jesus so great?
1. The hero in the story (Jesus) is a true hero. - He’s impressive, yet humble; likeable, yet awe-inspiring.
2. Jesus’ story is about achieving a worthy goal. – He came to make it possible for people to have a relationship with God and to do so, he was going to have to give his own life on our behalf. That’s a goal that takes people’s breath away. With every page, we want to know, “Can he do it?” “How will he do it?” And, “How will people respond if he does it?”
3. Along the way, he overcame great obstacles to achieve his goal.
In my humble opinion, the second greatest story ever told is J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. What makes that story great? It has a great hero (Frodo is impressive, yet humble). The hero has a great goal (he must destroy a great evil in order to save the people he loves). In the process, he overcomes great obstacles.
You and I could list a myriad of stories that follow that same pattern: Joseph, Daniel and Paul from the Bible; the heroes of Clancy, Grisham and company from today. They all have the same three elements: a likable hero, an impressive goal, and overcoming great obstacles.
Those three elements are essential to any great story. Nobody wants to read about a snob whose goal is to create a comfortable life for himself, and who achieves his goal without exerting much effort. Page-turners are made of great heroes with great goals who overcome great obstacles along the way. That’s the formula.
Now that you know how to write a great story, here’s my encouragement to you. Write that story with your life. God has placed you on this planet to write a great story with the only life you’ve been given. Long before you were born, he wrote what you might call “The Prologue” to your story. He published the idea that he’d like your story to be about a relationship with him (John 3:16) in which you help others enter into relationship with him as well (Matthew 28:19-20).
So if you’ve read carefully, you know that that’s your great goal. (If you haven’t, I encourage you to read the stories in the Bible of John 3 and Matthew 28. They’re not hard to find.)
Before your birth, God wrote the opening paragraph of your story. He gave you a place to be born, a body to live in, and a family to name and nurture you. As you grew, you encountered obstacles. Some of them came from your family, some from friends, and some from circumstances. How have you done so far? Have you preserved, learned, and grown from these challenges? How have you done with achieving your God-given goal? (The Matthew 28:19-20 one.) There are still a lot of pages yet to be written in your story. What will you write on them?
To write the greatest story of all, you will need to become the hero of your story - impressive in how you handle obstacles, yet likeable by those who read what you write. You’ll need to play your part in God’s great story of bringing people to himself. And you’ll need to stand in the face of obstacles and overcome challenges that a great life inevitably encounters.
Make your choices carefully. You are writing the most important story of eternity, the story that will determine what people read about you forever.
And know this. You are not alone in your story. I am here rooting for you. And God is up in heaven not just cheering you on, but crouching forward, eager to assist you at every turn. “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” - 2 Chronicles 16:9
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