The Story We Find Ourselves In

In this country every year, billions of dollars are spent in the entertainment industry, particularly

the movie industry. Why do films such as “Lord of the Rings”, “Forest Gump”, “Gladiator”, or “A

Beautiful Mind” captivate our culture? The answer is because people love a good story; one they can

relate to or feel that they are a part of. Philosophers such as Alasdair MacIntyre point out that stories help

us to identify ourselves in relation to the world and in relation to each other. Stories give meaning and

coherence to the seemingly random events of our lives. In his book After Virtue , MacIntyre states, “I can

only answer the question ‘What am I to do?’ if I can answer the prior question ‘Of what story or stories do I

find myself apart of?’”1

Because stories have the capacity to shape our lives, I would like to present a story that according

to Neo, a character in Brian McClaren’s The Story We Find Ourselves In, “has the truest news, the deepest

views, the highest theme, the most inspiring dream, the plot most full of meaning and magic, vigor and

rigor, startle and sparkle, emotion and motion.”2 This is the story of both God and humanity as found in the

Old and New Testaments. Along with McClaren’s book, I will also use concepts from Jonathan R. Wilson’s

God So Loved the World. The story will be presented in seven episodes: Creation, Crisis, Calling,

Conversation, Christ, Church, Consummation3.

Creation

Before the world was formed and before time was created, there was nothing except God. As Neo

points out, “God, a life, a mind, a heart, an intelligence, a creative personality, an essential goodness, an

inexpressible beauty, a light beyond all seeing, an infinite song that by its very being gives meaning to

meaning, gives glory to glory, gives life to life, a pure consciousness-pure in every sense of the word.”4

God, this Supreme Being, decides to become what he has never been before, the creator. However, in order

to create something that really exists, God must first create something outside of himself, otherwise

creation wouldn’t be real. It would just be an idea of God. Just as a painter needs a canvas to make his

1
 Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue,  Second Edition, Univeristy of Notre Dame.  Notre Dame, IN. 1984. p. 
216.

2
 Brian D. McClaren, The Story We Find Ourselves in, Jossey­Bass.  San Francisco, CA.  2003 p. 25.   
3
 This outline is found in McClaren’s book.  
4
 McClaren, The Story We Find Ourselves In, p.28
creations real and not just something in his head, God creates time and space as his canvas of creation. So

we come to Genesis 1:1, “In the Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”5 This passage

continues to verse two by saying, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the face of

the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” To the ancient Hebrews who recorded this

story, darkness and water were two symbols of chaos. We see in this creation narrative, God bringing order

from chaos and giving meaning to creation. Creation is derives meaning from and is dependent on God.

Finally we come to the apex of God’s creation, mankind. Genesis 1:27 says. “So God created man in his

own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Mankind is the only

part of creation with this special distinction of being made in the image of God. What this suggests is

uncertain. Neo points out that it could possibly be our intelligence, consciousness, our consciousness, or

our ability to create.6 As we come to the end of the first chapter of Genesis we see God giving his good

creation to mankind as a gift to enjoy and care for, not as something to be exploited. Genesis 1 concludes

with the phrase, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening and there

was morning-the sixth day.” So we see the goodness of God’s creation.

It is seldom realized that there are two creation stories in the book of Genesis. Chapter 1, which

we have discussed already is a story with more of a cosmic view, meaning that it is the story of the whole

universe. Chapter 2 is the story told from the perspective of mankind or in other words, it is the story of

mankind. One thing that we notice in chapter two is that God has given man His good creation as a gift,

but there is one thing that is not so good about it. Man is alone. To remedy this, God creates woman.

What this tells us is that mankind was not created to be sufficient in and of himself. He needs to be

connected not only with God, but with other people and the rest of creation. At the close of the second

chapter of Genesis we see mankind enjoying both his creator and God’s creation while being totally

dependent on the Creator.

Crisis

At the close of Genesis two, we see man kind created to enjoy both God and Creation, being

dependant on God. However in this episode of the story we see mankind getting as McClaren describes

“Too smart, too powerful for their own good.” In Genesis 1 and 2 we see all of creation being dependent
5
 All quotations of scripture are taken from from the New International Version
6
 McClaren, The Story We Find Ourselves In, p. 39­40 
on God. In Chapters 3-11 of Genesis we see mankind going beyond his limits as a creature, leaving chaos

in his wake, destroying God’s good creation. When coffee is contained in a cup, it is quite good.

However, if it is spilled it makes quite a mess. The same is true with mankind. When mankind goes

outside of his limits as God’s creation and tries to become independent of the Creator, he makes a real

mess. The first instance of this is with Adam and Eve. Discontent to be dependant on God and not

wanting to be limited, they eat the forbidden fruit, alienating them from God and from each other. The

mess doesn’t stop there. It continues in Chapter 4 when their son Cain kills their son Abel. The chaos and

corruption continues for the first eleven chapters in Genesis. In Genesis 1 and 2 we see God bringing order

from chaos. In chapters 3 to 11, we see mankind undoing God’s creation by bringing chaos. Episode 1:

Creation and Episode 2: Crisis are still going on today. We still see mankind trying to be independent of

God, wreaking havoc on creation and feeling disconnected from God.

Calling

In Genesis 12 there is a new direction in the story. God chose a man named Abram, later changing

his name to Abraham, and presented him with a fantastic invitation. Genesis 12:1-3 say “The LORD said

to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a

blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you, I will curse; and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.’” God chose this man Abraham and told him that He would create a great

nation out of him. God was going to create a new kind of people in the world. These people, the

descendants of Abraham, would be blessed by God so that they could be a blessing to the rest of the world.

They were not to hoard their blessing or their special status, using it to manipulate or control other nations.

They were to be God’s crisis response team or God’s resistance movement against evil7.

Conversation

After God makes the promise to Abraham, he miraculously gives him a son named Isaac, whose

son Jacob (God changes his name to Israel) has 12 children and move to Egypt because of a famine. After

about 400 years, Jacob’s descendants have grown numerous in Egypt and have become enslaved by the

Egyptians. God raises up a man named Moses to deliver the children of Israel from the Egyptians and lead

7
 Ibid., p.63­70.
them out of Egypt to a land of their own. After they leave Egypt, God brings them to Mount Sinai to

establish a covenant or agreement with them to live as His people. After the people rebel against God’s

rule, they wander the desert for forty years until they come to the land that God has given them. However,

others have settled the land and they must conquer the land. After they settle in the promised land, they are

ruled by charismatic leaders called judges. The people of Israel then wanted a king like other nations had,

so God gives them a king. When King David came to the throne God made a promise to him that a

descendent of David’s would rule on the throne forever. A few generations later Israel split into two

kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom was called Israel and the Southern Kingdom was called Judah. After a

series of wicked kings the Northern Kingdom was destroyed by Assyria. Not much later the Southern

Kingdom was invaded by the Babylonians. The capital city of Jerusalem was destroyed and many of the

survivors were taken as prisoners to Babylon.

Throughout this period God has kept ongoing communication with the people he created to be a

blessing to all nations. Many times, Israel forgot their divine calling and rebelled against God. However,

in His love, God stayed with the nation and constantly sought to bring them back to himself and restore the

relationship. There were three major offices that God used to help the people follow Him more faithfully;

the prophet, the priest, and the king.

Deuteronomy 18:14-22 gives a description of the responsibilities of a prophet. According to

Wilson, there are four characteristics of a prophet: he will be chosen by God; he will speak for God; his

work will be enforced by God; and what he declares will come true8. Quite frequently the Israelites would

not live according to the agreement they made with God, so God would send them a prophet as His

spokesperson or a messenger to the people. However, there were many false prophets leading the people

astray. False prophets would speak for their own selfish gain and many times would make up a message

and then claim that it came from God.

The next office was the priest. We have descriptions of the priests work in Deuteronomy 18:1-5

and also in Deuteronomy 33:8-11. The priests were the people’s representative to God. They handled

sacrifices on behalf of the people. They were also responsible for discerning God’s guidance, remain

totally consecrated to God, and guard and teach the law (which is the agreement between the people and

8
 Jonathan R. Wilson, God So Loved the World.  Baker Academic.  Grand Rapids, MI.  2001.  p.  44
God)9. Because of the corruption of the people, it is easy to see that the priest had neglected their

responsibilities. They are condemned in passages such as Jeremiah 8:10-11 and Hosea 4:6-9.

The last office is that of King. Originally God was to be the King of Israel. The people want a

king like other nations, so God gives them one. Deuteronomy 17:14-20 describes the office. A king is not

to gain his position by force, but is to be appointed by God. Secondly, a king is not to amass military

strength. Next, he wasn’t to have many wives. Also, he wasn’t to accumulate great wealth. He was to

live by the law of God. Finally, he is to be humble.10 Looking throughout the history of Israel, none of the

kings lived up to this ideal. In fact, the kings constantly “did evil in the sight of the LORD”

Christ

As the Old Testament closes, the Jews’ captors have been defeated by the Persians, who allow the

Jews to return home to rebuild the temple. Although the Jews were able to return to their land, they were

still under Persian rule. Next, the Greeks defeated the Persians and ruled the Jews. After Alexander the

Great died, his generals fought with each other for control over the Greek empire, weakening Greece. At

this time, the Jews revolted and enjoyed a short period of independence. Finally, the Romans took control

of the middle east, including the Jews. Israel, who is supposed to be God’s people once again finds itself

in submission to nations that worship idols. In addition, God had promised His people that a descendant of

King David would always be on the throne, yet they were being ruled by other nations. Despite this

seemingly hopeless situation, the Jews had hope because of what God had said through the prophets. He

would keep His promise to David and send a king who is one of David’s descendants to establish a whole

new age of peace. This king would also act as a priest who led his people in true worship. The term the

Jews used for this king is Messiah, or anointed one.

It is into this era of expectation that Jesus of Nazareth came. Jesus was conceived by the Holy

Spirit and was born by a virgin. He was fully a human, but at the same time fully God. This is

extraordinary because the Creator had become part of his creation in order to heal it from the crisis. As

Wilson says, “It is the story of one life lived in complete, perfect accord with God’s intentions for

creation.”11 He was the Messiah that God had promised, however the Jews were looking for something

9
 Ibid, p. 48
10
 Ibid p. 54
11
 Ibid, p. 58
else. They thought that the Messiah, would be from an affluent family, not from a carpenter’s family like

Jesus. They expected the Messiah to overthrow the Romans. Since Jesus wasn’t the type of king they

expected, they along with the Roman government had him executed by crucifixion. Three days after Jesus

was crucified, God reversed the Jews’ and Romans judgments by raising Jesus from the dead. In his life,

death, and resurrection, Jesus initiated a new way of life where mankind is reconnected with the creator,

restoring creation to the way it was meant to be. He perfectly fulfilled the roles of king, priest, and prophet.

First of all, Jesus was the perfect King. As stated earlier, originally God was to be the king of His

people. Because Jesus is fully God and fully human, God is now once again king. Jesus of Nazareth is

also a descendant of David as noted in the first chapter of Matthew, which is a fulfillment of God’s

promise. As we saw earlier in the story, a king was to be a servant of the people, follow the law, and be

totally dependent on God rather than his own might. By refusing to defend himself and allowing Himself

to be crucified, Jesus totally relied on God and served the people12. God approved of Jesus’s kingship by

raising Him from the dead and as Wilson says “Jesus is victorious by his dependence on God.”13 We

usually think of kings as victorious and Jesus isn’t the type of victor we are looking for. However, Jesus

conquered evil by casting out demons. He conquered chaos, by walking on the sea. He conquered the

Roman government by refusing to fight the same way it did. Instead of leading a revolt or arguing His case

in court, Jesus relied on God and in so doing, defeated the Roman government14. Had He chose to revolt or

argue his case in court, He would be acknowledging that that was the most powerful alternative. His life,

death, and resurrection demonstrate that God is more powerful than anything in creation.

Just as Jesus fulfilled the role of king, he also perfectly fulfilled the role of priest. The priest was

the people’s representative to God and would offer sacrifices on behalf of the people. Sacrifices were

meant to restore the relationship with God after it had been damaged by an offense against God. Since

Jesus was fully human, and fully obedient, he was able to offer himself as a sacrifice on behalf of all

mankind by dying on the cross. Not only was His death a sacrifice, but his life was a sacrifice as well.

God chose to become part of creation and take part in suffering, which was a major sacrifice. Also, his life

was a sacrifice in the aspect of being perfectly obedient. As stated earlier, the priests were not just

12
 Ibid, p. 56
13
 Ibid p. 56
14
 Ibid, p. 85
responsible for sacrifices, but in teaching the law and discerning God’s guidance. In the Gospels, we see

Jesus teaching in the temple courts as priests would usually do, which completely meets the job description

of a priest.

Finally, Jesus also fully fulfilled the role of prophet. A prophet was to be the spokesman for God.

Since Jesus was fully God, he would be more than qualified to be a spokesman. A prophet was to be

chosen by God and God would reinforce his work. God would send prophets to His people to expose the

evil in their lives by proclaiming the truth. In his life, death and resurrection Jesus exposed our evil by

showing us His truth. In his life Jesus exposed our evil by showing us the right way to live. He associated

with outcasts, wasn’t consumed with riches or his own piety, was totally dependent on God. His death

exposed our evil by showing us that even with our best intentions, we were capable of brutally torturing

and killing a perfectly innocent man. His resurrection exposed our evil by reversing our judgment on

Christ and putting God’s stamp of approval on His life and death. The resurrection is God’s ultimate

reinforcement of Jesus’ work as prophet.

Church

Through his work as prophet, priest, and king, Jesus has given us a new reality to live in. The

community that he has created to live in this reality is the church. Like Israel, the church is God’s crisis

response team. However, membership on this team isn’t just limited to Israel, but is open to all mankind.

Jesus invites all people to continue his prophetic and priestly work. Not all people accept this invitation

and would rather live in the old reality, disconnected from God. The term used in the story for people that

reject Christ’s invitation is the world. The church is the community that functions as the prophet, and priest

that points to the King.15 In order to carry on this task, God sent his Spirit to live inside all who accept the

invitation to carry on Jesus’ work

As prophet, the church seeks to expose the evil of the world by proclaiming the truth and being a

community that lives in the righteousness, peace, and joy that Jesus makes possible. The church is to be the

community where God’s plan for creation is demonstrated. As in episode 2, Crisis, the world wants to be

independent from God, to do things on its own. Being disconnected from God, the source of all life,

 I took this point from a class I had with Dr. Mark Medley at Campbellsville Unviversity.
15
Wilson states, “the cultures we create are attempts to make sense of a creation without God.”16 As prophet,

the church exists to expose these lies and point to God.

The world doesn’t like to have its lies exposed, so many times it reacts in violence towards those

who proclaim the truth. This is where the priestly work of Jesus is continued in sacrifice. Just as Jesus

Christ was rejected, so also will his followers be rejected. This sacrifice takes many forms. To some it may

mean being ridiculed. To others, it may mean losing their jobs. In some cases, it may even mean giving our

lives for Jesus. In the midst of this violence one of the greatest sacrifices is to forgive our enemies and

even love them. However, sacrificing wasn’t the only part of the priests duties. The priest was also

required to teach the way God requires them to live.

Although the role of King is exclusively filled by Jesus Christ, the church is called to live in the

victory established by Christ. The church realizes that Christ has conquered evil, chaos, and the world and

must live in this victory. The church lives with the hope that no matter what happens, God still rules the

world and is victorious.

Consummation

Like every good story, this one too has an ending. However, it’s an ending that hasn’t been written

yet. Ever since the beginning of time, creation has been heading towards this point which McClaren calls

the Great Consummation and describes it as a time when “everything comes home”17 It is a time of

judgment, meaning that everything in all of creation will be assessed by God, seen as it really is. All of the

good will be remembered and because of what Christ as done, all the evil will be identified, forgiven, and

forgotten. All that is good will be remade into a new creation or as Revelation 21 calls “A new heaven and

a new earth.” This Great Consummation is described in Revelation 21 and also in Isaiah 66:17-25. This

consummation is at the same time an ending and a beginning of the new creation18.

We all have a story to tell. We have stories that consume us. However, Jesus offers us the

possibility of becoming part of something much bigger, His story. “To everyone, Jesus issues an invitation

16
 Ibid., p. 161
17
 McClaren, The Story We Find Ourselves In, p.152­156.
18
 Ibid., p. 151
to abandon the story they will lose themselves in, and instead, to enter the story they will find themselves

in.”19

19
 Ibid., p.170