What story are you living by?

Less than two years ago, the BBC broadcasted a documentary about the Post Office scandal but the programme gained little public interest.

In contrast, when ITV broadcast a dramatised version, Mr Bates versus the Post Office, it led to widespread public anger. It led to the scandal being widely recognised as the biggest miscarriage of justice in recent times and it provoked immediate action by the government.

What was the difference between the two programmes? ITV’s drama told a better story.

Story-telling creatures

Humans are story-telling creatures. Since the dawn of time, humans have told each other fables, tales, myths, legends, parables and fairy stories.

Stories are the way we make sense of our lives. They help us define meaning, values and identity. Even those accounts we consider factual are described as ‘his-story’.

And of course, stories lie at the heart of faith.

The true myth

The Bible is one, big story: a narrative of creation, fall, redemption and new creation. But the biblical God is not a god of ‘timeless truths’ beamed down to earth, but a God revealed in the earthy stories of people such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is rooted in time and place, ‘a story with a postcode’.

And the story Jesus lived, and the stories he told, have shaped the world we live in. What stories have had more influence than the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son?

As C.S. Lewis came to realise, the Christian story is another myth alongside all the other myths humans tell. But with one critical difference: it is true. The story of Christ is definitive: it is the story within all stories.

A story to live by

‘New Atheism’ was popular in the early 2000s but a key reason for its decline is that it could do little to provide its followers with a coherent or inspiring story to build their lives upon. As explored in the podcast The Surprising Re-birth of Belief in God many have rejected the dogmatic certainties of that form of atheism and are once again exploring faith.

‘What story are you living by?’ is a vital question for everyone. What is the aim and purpose of our lives? On what can we build hope and meaning?

It’s a question which also challenges Christians because the story of Jesus calls us to much more than cerebral acceptance of a message. Rather than view it from a comfortable distance, Jesus challenges us to in-dwell his narrative. Or to use less complex language, he invites us to make his story, our story.

Jesus and Justice

Over the last 18 months, I have been journeying with many others to write a book of stories as part of the Red Letter Christians UK. This grown from the RLC group in the US established by Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne to promote Christian activism for compassion and justice. The book is titled Jesus and Justice and is published in February 2024.

The book is intentionally story-based rather than being full of doctrine or theology. It tells the true stories of people who have put faith in Jesus into action, to respond to poverty, to work for peace, to bring more justice and wholeness in their communities. The stories do the talking.

Genuine inspiration

The people I got to know in the writing of this book have genuinely challenged and inspired me. Furthermore, the warm welcome and generous hospitality surrounding the whole process has been deep nourishment to the soul.

The experience has been a reminder that the best stories cannot be read at a distance. They move us, draw us in and help shape and change us. The story of producing this book has done that to me. I hope and pray it will do the same for those who read it.