Here’s the question:
When there are so many real truths to communicate, why spend time on stories that are made up?
Three quick reasons:
1. Because God is Shaping a Story
I resonate deeply with these words from G. K. Chesterton: “I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story there is a storyteller.”
The grand narrative God is weaving through all time and space is, of course, reality—not fiction. Yet because reality itself is story-shaped, we have an innate connection with narratives. We connect with fictional characters not simply because they may resemble us, but also because we too are characters in a tale much bigger than ourselves.
Additionally, God—in his Word—often employed storytelling to convey truth. He spoke to Joseph through dreams and imagery. Nathan confronted David with a fictional story of a sheep thief. Christ himself invented stories of wandering sons and buried treasure to teach us of deeper realities
2. Because Stories Shape Us
Just as our bodies are shaped by the food we eat, so our hearts are shaped by the stories we consume.
Non-fiction is necessary and valuable for framing truth in clear ways, but what we grasp with our minds doesn’t always reach our hearts. This is why C. S. Lewis said that, for him, “reason is the natural organ of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.”
The best fiction pulls us into a story that allows us to not only see, but feel, reality more accurately. While we need doctrines to be stated precisely for our mind, stories can help press those same precious truths into our hearts.
3. Because God Shaped Me
Lastly, while this pertains more specifically to me, I spend time reading and writing fiction because it is how God has shaped me.
I enjoy writing fiction. Immensely. An hour of working on a manuscript can slide by in an instant.
The vast majority of my week is spent in the world of non-fiction teaching, but I find that when I sit down for an hour or two to imagine and write a story, it renews my perspective on the real one. As a creature made in the image of my Creator, one way I reflect my Author is by writing stories of my own.
The apostle Peter calls us to “as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
And that’s my prayer—that the stories that I love so much to conceive, imagine, and write—would also be a blessing to you, dear reader.
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