It’s especially around the Christmas holiday that the importance of stories is brought out on a mass scale. From the new movies that release, to the old Christmas classic films, to the stories of people acting especially kind and noble, the world seems to abound with the telling and hearing stories. Of course, we live in a storytelling world, but this is pronounced in western culture during this time of year.

So why do people love to learn stories? This question is most pertinent for believers in Jesus who are seeking to tell the “good news” of the Lord Jesus Messiah. Since we know the best story ever told, then we have a great opportunity to tell eager listeners. But most of us also know that other stories can have immense value for those who learn them. So what makes a story good?

From God’s point of view, any form of communication that puts His glory and character on display through Jesus is good. That is, stories need to somehow present reality as it is, and show what our response to reality should be. It’s been famously said that all truth is God’s truth, so this applies to man-made stories.

So not just any story is a helpful one. And Scripture repeatedly calls believers to “speak truth to one another,” and to “let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such . . . as is good for edification . . .” (Eph. 4:25, 29). Applied to stories, this means that they ought to be accurately portraying ultimate reality, or being “truthful”. However, truthful isn’t the same as factual or historical. If it was, then God and Jesus wouldn’t often be making up their own fictional stories in the Bible to teach people. This is a point I want to elaborate on later.

For now, suffice it to say that storytelling is essential to being human, because God is the ultimate Storyteller. As the eternal Creator of all things, He is the One who is “writing” the story of history. All that happens is a part of His good design for the universe. Thus, every good story that’s told is a miniscule effort to explain some of the story that God is making, and how we fit into it.

This story, again, is centered in the life and deeds of Jesus the Messiah, who is the One for whom all things were made (Col. 1:15ff). So ultimately, every good story at least implicitly points to Him as the object of mankind’s ultimate love, joy, and worship. Every conflict in a story is part of the same conflict that Jesus is waging. Every character in a story is a creation of Jesus that will either ultimately love Him, or despise Him for eternity. And every resolution to problems in a story is an echo of the ultimate resolution to our greatest problem through the death and reign of Jesus.

As we go on, I’d like to reflect on some of the historical uses of stories, and what the differences are between “factual” stories and fictional stories.

The History of Stories

From the beginning of fallen mankind, people told stories to remember what God had done, and understand who they were. It’s clear from the first five books of the Bible written by Moses that most of the events described in the early years of humanity were handed down through the generations by oral recounting, and people memorizing them. At some point, these historical stories were then recorded in writing, the ultimate record being contained in the holy Scriptures.

So we humans have a long tradition of telling stories to explain what God has done, and what our responsibilities to Him are. Just because we have a written record in Scripture of the most important acts of God, doesn’t mean that the need for storytelling has gone away. Even though God’s covenant people had the Scriptures to hear and read, He still added even more revelation to them in the form of stories of His mighty acts, and the deeds of faith of His worshipers. He and His messengers still continued to tell even more stories in the form of the visions, dreams, and revelations that were given to the prophets and poets writing the Old Testament. This is even better demonstrated by the fact that after Jesus came, His eyewitnesses and their associates told the stories of His life, death, ascension, and reign through His Spirit in believers. God still saw a need for His people to tell and learn even more stories of His climactic work through the Lord Jesus.

And since the New Testament Scriptures were completed, believers have still been telling stories of God’s work in history to expand His kingdom, whether it be through the ungodly or the godly.

Now, that’s mostly about actual historical events that took place in reality, but what about made-up stories? Again, because God has shown us that they’re legitimate by telling them Himself, we can know that we’re permitted to use them as well. Throughout the prophets, God uses symbolic pictures and made-up stories to communicate His messages to people. For example, Nathan the prophet uses a hypothetical story when he confronts David about his sin of murder and adultery against Uriah and his wife. There are also a few examples in Ezekiel that use fictional stories about animals and objects to portray God’s work in history in ways that people will understand. Moving to the New Testament, Jesus’s teachings abound with stories in the form of hypothetical “parables” that teach spiritual lessons. Similarly, Paul’s letters are filled with illustrations from common features of life that could have easily been turned into stories. Just think of his athletic metaphors, his human body metaphor, and his warfare illustrations. Finally, what’s almost most remarkable is that the entire Bible ends with God recounting history since the coming of Jesus through the use of short, symbolic, stories in Revelation. Most notable of these stories is the symbolic narrative of a woman and a dragon in chapter 12, which is a lengthy description of the events during Jesus’s reign from heaven.

A question emerges from all these uses of fictional stories — why did God decide to use them? Clearly, the answer is that striking illustrations and imagery different from our personal experience often deliver more passion and/or persuasiveness to our hearts and understandings. In order to teach us what we need to know and do, God has chosen to use our imaginations to persuade us of the truth about various things. Thus, from God’s own example in Scripture, we have a divine precedent for making up stories to convey reality, and move people’s hearts.

Would you like another evidence of the validity of stories in teaching people to obey Jesus (Mt. 28:19-20)? Just think of what children do — they naturally make up stories that they act out in their imaginations to understand reality and their proper place in the world. The imagination and storytelling, then, is something that God has ingrained in humanity’s heart from childhood. It’s up to believers to harness this faculty for good and godly purposes that point to Jesus.

Along with all that I’ve said about fictional, made-up, stories, I want to add a note on factual stories. Obviously, this is the main kind of story that God has used in His Scriptures to teach us, since the Bible is a long record of historical events and writings. Thus, stories that have already happened are one of the best ways of teaching people about God and His will. And since Scripture itself promotes the study and imitation of events and people that are outside of its contents, then we have the freedom to describe and learn historical events beyond sacred writ. This is why one of the most important fields of study is general history, besides Bible history. And this is especially true of history since the times of the apostles, as we are still living in the last days when the Messiah reigns (Heb. 1:2; 1 Cor. 10).

Given the importance God has given to storytelling, how should we respond?

Be a Storyteller of God’s Wondrous Deeds

The fact is, in calling believers to be His witnesses, Jesus was also commissioning them as storytellers. Obviously, not tellers of false and deceitful stories, but tellers of the best story — that of the life, ascension, and return of Jesus the Christ. As the apostles were commissioned to teach their followers to obey the commands that He gave them, it follows that all the subsequent followers of Jesus are to engage in this witness to His deeds. Hence, all believers are called to at least be tellers of the greatest story with good news — the gospel.

Due to the fact that we believers are personally involved in what Jesus did and is doing until the end, we ought to consistently see ourselves a parts of God’s story that’s playing out through our lives. If we keep this in mind, then we’ll be able to avoid the pull to find more exciting and meaningful stories to act in. The fact is, we already are honored characters in the best story ever — of reality.

This being the case, we should be passionate about telling the stories of what God has done, and is doing in the world. This starts with recounting what He has done to redeem us personally from sin, but it can extend to a multitude of different avenues. Whenever we showcase God working in the world to glorify His Son through salvation, we’re rightly telling the story of God’s goodness and glory in His creation.

Finally, there still remain two action steps you can take today, besides simply looking to share the gospel with unbelievers. First, if you’ve been gifted with an imagination and communicative ability to convey truthful and moving stories for the enlightenment and encouragement of people, use your gifts.

And second, if you need help finding the best stories to learn about our Lord, start with daily Bible reading, and then eagerly consider reading or listening to good story books.

Here’s a list of some of the best non-biblical stories that help you understand and respond to God’s work in the world. As always, do this in your joyful pursuit of knowing the Lord Jesus and the power of His cross and resurrection!

Good Fictional Books

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

The Holy War by John Bunyan

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Good History Books

Confessions of Saint Augustine by Augustine of Hippo

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan

No Other Foundation: The Church Through Twenty Centuries by Jeremy C. Jackson

Finally, if you can get a well-reputed biography on any of these historical figures, then you’ll be able to learn a good story:

Corrie ten Boom; Charles Spurgeon; Keith Green; George Whitefield; George Mueller; Martin Luther; Amy Carmichael; Jim Elliott; William Wilberforce, and the list goes on and on and on . . .

Just recognize what God is doing in your life, act out your part, and learn and be encouraged by the small stories He has woven into the great Story of His redemption of all things through Jesus the Lord!