The Redemption of Our Broken Stories

All of us are living out stories. Where we work, our hobbies, the people we interact with—these are all part of our daily narrative. 

But every one of us has a broken story. We all have wishes and hopes that did not come to pass. We have experienced the loss of loved ones. We have failed despite our best efforts. We have financial, mental, emotional, and physical struggles.

How do you fix a broken story?

Creation and Fall
We need to recognize that our smaller narratives are part of a greater Story. This Story, the greatest story ever told, comes in four acts: creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. 

The first act began when God spoke and the world came to be. He fashioned and formed us, knowing us intimately. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27 NASB).

But something happened. Adam and Eve sinned, and they became alienated from God. The image of God in them was distorted. Their stories became broken, and because of that, so have ours. We are utterly unable to fix the stories of our lives on our own. Many have tried, and all have failed. We are in need of Someone to come in and redeem our broken narratives.

Redemption
This time of year, we explore God’s great invasion into human history: the Incarnation. We read in John 1:1 of something that comes before the first chapter of Genesis: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (NASB). A few verses later we read that “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 NASB).

The living God did what no human being would ever think: He took on flesh and the form of a servant (cf. Philippians 2:7). He came down to redeem our brokenness and draw us to Himself.

If I were to come up with one term to describe my thoughts and actions in relation to the Father, it would be sin. Sin is anything that falls short of the glory of God. Every single one of us falls short of that glory. But if we look at Christ’s works, we see righteousness. “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15 NASB)

This is the good news of the Incarnation. In the fullness of time, the Son was born. God Himself has taken on the cost of our sin.

Consummation
The Story that we are living does not end with redemption. One day, Jesus will return. We can look forward to His coming again because we are no longer condemned criminals. Instead, we are children of God. 

The Story ends with new creation. But this ending is really a new beginning. Those of us who look to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, will have peace with God. 

So, in the midst of our current brokenness, we can rest assured that God is crafting a story that will end well.

Adapted from Rewriting Your Broken Story: Power of an Eternal Perspective, copyright © Ken Boa. Used with permission.