The Greatest Story Ever Told
April 6, 2012
Not much beats reading a good story! At least that is what Cammy and I believe, even though our reading interests and tastes vary from time to time. However, one thing we agree makes for a good book is a storyline that is redemptive. And apparently the “experts” on powerful storytelling also agree because they list redemption as one of the key elements of a great story.
According to the “story authorities”, a story is powerfully told when it touches and moves people in such a way that it causes them to think and ponder. And a good story should have substance and a strong skeletal structure with deep truth running through it. Naturally there is the element that a great story needs conflict and resolution and that’s where the redemption piece comes in. Strong stories have a well-defined main character who encounters some kind of trouble or conflict which the character must overcome. Usually the way that person resolves the tension involves great personal risk and courage which ultimately leads to redemption for others. Finally, a good story is one that you love and that you love to tell.
The greatest story that I love, and that I love to tell, is the story that gives purpose for the Easter celebration that will take place all over the world this Sunday. It is a story of great truth, courage, and risk. It is a story so redemptive in nature that it makes us ponder and think long after hearing it. It is the story of Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, Who paid the penalty for our sins by dying on a cross for us. Jesus agonized in the garden of Gethsemane about what His Father was asking Him to do. Yet He did the will of His Father and suffered and died for us. He is our Substitute, Atonement and Redeemer. Through Him, we have been completely forgiven and have received perfect righteousness. It is a story of great skeletal structure even though not one bone was found in His tomb three days after He was crucified. Because up from the grave He arose, we live.
Have you ever heard this story? Have you believed it? If not, why not believe it today? Easter Sunday will take on the best and the truest meaning because it has all the elements of the greatest story ever told. It is meant to touch and move people all over the world, it has substance, and most of all it is redemptive! (sv)
Thank you for the cross, Lord….
Thank you for your nail scarred hands…..
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:6-8
“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
Matthew 28:6