A Salute to the Great Stories

My parents are graciously allowing me to rearrange the extra bedroom in our house and create a reading room. To say I am ecstatic is an understatement. I have been gathering my books from all corners of the house and organizing them on the bookshelves in their respective genres. The other day, I sat for a few moments looking at all my books and thinking about how much I love them. There is nothing like a good book.

Just a couple of moments on booktok or bookstagram shows that I am not alone in my thoughts. And even those who don’t like books (hard for me to imagine, but I am told they exist), they probably love movies instead. Because, as humans, we are drawn to art. We are drawn to creativity. We are drawn to a good story. 

As I sat there, I started thinking about why I love books so much. They are so much more than words on a page-they are the passageway into other worlds, other lives, other struggles, other loves. They are excitement and adventure on a boring day, or a comforting escape in the midst of trials. But I think at the heart, they simply give the promise that there is more out there. The promise of hope. And is this not what humans truly desire? Since the beginning of time, mankind has constantly been looking for more - exploring frontiers, building civilizations, always looking for the next advancement. We are addicted to what is just over the horizon, hoping it will be better than what is behind. We are always in search of the reassurance that things will get better. 

And I think it’s because when we look at our world, we are left wanting more. Our world has much beauty in it, but at its core, it is ravaged by sin. People die. Wars break out. Hearts are broken. Homes are destroyed. Dreams wither away. And any happiness we have always has the threat of being destroyed in a moment. Happy endings are rare, and never guaranteed. 

So we read. We watch movies. We love the crime fiction where the killer is ALWAYS brought to justice, where the hero arrives just in time. We love the fantasy where the dragons are slain and rightful royalty restored. We love the romance where the couple always ends up together and lives happily ever after. We love the adventure quest that is always successful in the end. And even stories with heartache provide an escape, a fictional world where anything can happen that in reality hurts no one. 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 states that God has set eternity in our hearts, and I think this is a beautiful explanation of the unshakable desire we have for something better. Deep inside, we all long for the “happy ending.” We want the resolution. We want to make sense of senseless suffering. We don’t want the trials to be in vain. 

I am reminded that, for those who believe in Jesus, this promise of hope we find in our books and movies is just a shadow. Because the greatest Story ever told promises an eternal happy ending. An ending where “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4) Where all things are made new. Where evil and death are vanquished. Where we will live forever in loving fellowship with Him and one another. No more goodbyes. 

Perhaps this is the heart of creativity itself - the books, the movies, the plays, the art: modeling the Creator's redemption and resolution. Weaving this eternal Hope into our stories. Creating shadows and caricatures that will draw people to the great Story itself. 

Let’s tell the Story - the one with the happy ending.