What's Your Story? (25-Pack) (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781682164280)

People disagree about all sorts of things. Politics, religion, sports teams, musical taste, and even whether the world is flat or round. When you think about it, people debate nearly everything.

Yet would it surprise you to know that most human beings live in ways that are very similar to each other? All over the globe, deep patterns bind all cultures together.

When it comes to scientific patterns, none of us can argue with gravity (or if you try, it might not end well for you). Or did you know that if you flipped a coin one hundred times, it's almost certain to land on the same side (heads or tails) seven times in a row? So even randomness isn't really random; there are inescapable scientific rules in the universe.

The same is true for human patterns. Countless books and movies follow a common shape: people find themselves in need, yet by the end have overcome those challenges. Similarly, don't we all know that life is supposed to have meaning? Even when someone despairs that life has no more meaning, their misery communicates something isn't right. And the same pattern applies to a tragedy. For instance, we all know, instantly, that murder isn't just tragic, it's pure evil.

So no matter who you are or where you live, there are deep patterns that lie beneath your story. Beneath everyone's story. And if you'll take time to look, these patterns also point to something bigger. They're like threads in the fabric of the real story of the whole world. And like every plot, this story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

In the beginning, the world came into being through the work of the Creator. God made everything (not just stuff like trees and oceans and squirrels). God is the one who also embedded deep patterns into his world: gravity, mathematic probability, tides, planetary rotation, weather patterns, your circulatory system, a sense of justice and injustice, and so forth. God made all these things. They're part of his plan, the beginning of the story.

The middle of this story is where things get complicated. And isn't that the way all stories work? Human beings turned away from their Creator and the way he designed life to work. They decided to live as if they were the makers of life and reality. But just like ignoring the laws of gravity doesn't make them go away, this decision didn't go well. Like a cancer on the Creator's world, sin began to spread across everything. (And that's another deep pattern, isn't it? All of us are broken. And aren't we more selfish than we'd like to admit?)

And as the story unfolded, the Creator could have simply started over. Like a sketch that's not quite turned out as hoped, he could've crumpled it all up, and started again. But to fix it, he did something harder.

Here the plot reaches its climax: the Author himself entered the story. God the Father sent his Son--fully God--to become fully human. He felt pain; he suffered injustice. And where no one else had succeeded, the Son overcame sin and evil. How? By absorbing it into himself; by giving his life so others could live. In doing this, he brought the original plot to completion.

God the Father was so pleased with the rescue that his Son had achieved that he raised him from the dead and put him where he belongs. Today the Son, Jesus Christ, sits on the throne of the universe. He's the hero. And that leads us to the conclusion of the story.

The biggest pattern in the universe today is that Jesus Christ is Lord. He's King, the hero of the real story of the world.

So if this story and all these patterns are real, how should you respond?

First, acknowledge the Author. Tell him--you can talk to him silently or aloud--that even if you don't understand everything, you believe in him. Second, tell him that you've also come to see what's true about yourself. You've seen your selfishness, your sin, and you don't want to live that way any longer. You want to live with Jesus as your King. Third, ask him to forgive you. He already died to take care of your sin, so your response is to rely on what he's already accomplished.

Of course, some people will disagree with what you've just read. But what about you? Will you accept or reject the big story and deep patterns that God has created?

Are you ready to step into the true story of real life?

If you are ready to start living the true story of life, you can begin by praying a prayer like this:

Dear Jesus, I believe you are the true King of the world. I believe that I have sinned against you but that you have died for my sin and are alive today. I believe that you want me to follow you as the only Author of my story. Please become my Lord and Savior. Please guide me to a church that believes the Bible and will help me follow you. In Jesus's name I pray, amen.