God’s Story – why it’s bigger than our personal narrative

June 10, 2018

‘So, what’s your story?’ I love asking that question. 

We use stories to find meaning and purpose. The way we respond to that question reveals something of the story we are living with our lives. In a moment, we choose where our story begins and quickly edit the headlines into an answer.

How do we use a narrative to define our lives?

Each of our lives tells a story but we very rarely spend time thinking through the narrative we want our lives to tell. Instead, we pick up on three popular stories that are dominant in our society.

There is the story about happiness, about living a life crammed with the best of experiences. There is the story about making ourselves safe, because the world is changing and nothing is certain. And then there is the story about being significant, about changing the world and leaving our mark upon history.

I have written this book because I believe these three stories are too small and ultimately they are dangerous. These stories end up defining who we are and short-changing us from living the best kind of story.
Happiness, safety, success – is there a bigger story?

If our story is solely about happiness, then we are defined by our emotions. If our story is about protecting what we have, then we are defined by what we have and have to deal with the reality our own mortality. If our story is about significance, then we are defined by the impact we make and can end up carrying the weight of the world upon our shoulders.

These three stories have never been more prevalent than they are today and the ultimate problem is that these stories put us at the very centre. I have Long Story Short to provoke questions about these popular narratives and to ultimately present the story we find in Scripture: the God story.

Why the God story matters

What if we were never meant to be the centre of the story?

What if we were meant to be part of God’s unfolding story?

With the Bible as the framing narrative, I want to challenge those who have never considered the Christian faith and those who are already committed Christians, to invest their lives wisely and to find their story in God’s.
Long Story Short by Andy Frost is available for pre-order here.