The Story of the Year 

What story are you telling about the year 2020? 

There is absolutely no doubt about it - it has been a very challenging year! It has been filled with highs and lows, questions and plot twists. We’ve been tested to limits we didn’t realise existed and we’ve reshaped the patterns of our lives in order to adjust to strange new realities. Cracks may have appeared where we least expected it and new found joys discovered despite the gloom.

Humans are remarkably adaptable. It never ceases to amaze me just how capable of adjusting and shifting we are - not just in the day-to-day changes and difficulties, but in our very capacity to navigate our own existence. We respond to life’s complexities by asking questions about who we are, why we are here, and what life is all about, and the best answers to those questions come in the form of stories.

Stories have captured our hearts and imaginations since the dawn of time. From tales around campfires, to odysseys faithfully passed down through generations. Famous writers like Dorothy Sayers, CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien believed that God intentionally shaped the human mind and imagination to be receptive to stories. That’s why in every culture, throughout all time, stories have been integral to the human experience and why God’s heart towards us is captured in a grand story we read about in the Bible. 

When Jesus spent time upon this earth, his ministry consisted of lots of stories and news about him spread like wildfire as people told of his generous acts of service towards others. When he was asked a question, his response often took the form of a parable, demonstrating the exceptional power of story in revealing what is good, true, beautiful and meaningful. 

The Christian story offers an imaginatively compelling, provocatively meaningful and intellectually rich vision for life in a year like 2020. Jesus demonstrates to us a new way of existence - one that is truly alive, full of love, joy, peace, kindness and goodness. And if there is one thing that is central to the story of Jesus it is that suffering and death does not need to be the end of the story. 

The love of Jesus has the potential to transform our experience of pain and chaos in this life to bring meaning, hope and direction in what can sometimes feel like a deeply puzzling and often disturbing world, but it all depends on the story that you choose to tell about yourselves, others and the world. 

May the story of your 2020 be one of faith, hope and love, where chaos is turned into order and darkness into light.