The Story You Were Made For: Why It Matters

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What if the most important thing about you isn’t what you believe — but what story you’re living in?

That might sound strange, especially to Christians used to thinking in terms of doctrines or worldviews. But beneath all that, every person is shaped by a story. Whether we realise it or not, we’re constantly drawing from some narrative to understand who we are, why the world is broken, and what we’re supposed to do about it.

We’re not just minds that need facts. We’re humans who need meaning.

And meaning always comes wrapped in a story.

The stories we live by

You’ve probably heard the modern ones.

The progress story: We’re evolving past all those old ideas. One day, technology will solve everything.

The freedom story: Be true to yourself. Break all the rules. Chase your desires and cut off whoever gets in the way.

The activist story: The world is broken. But if we work hard enough, if we get angry enough, we’ll fix it.

The pleasure story: Nothing really matters, so just enjoy yourself. Travel. Drink good wine. Document it all in square tiles.

These stories are popular because they promise a lot. But they don’t deliver. The progress story can’t explain why we still hurt each other. The freedom story often leaves us isolated and anxious. The activist story burns people out. And the pleasure story feels hollow once the novelty wears off.

You can try to live in these stories — but they’ll leave you tired, disillusioned, or numb. Sometimes all three.

What we need is a story big enough to make sense of our longings and our losses. A story that’s not just emotionally satisfying, but actually true. That’s exactly what the Bible offers.

The true myth

C.S. Lewis once called Christianity “the true myth.” Not because it’s make-believe, but because it has the shape of the stories that have always moved us. A world made good. A fall into ruin. A promised hero. A great rescue. A future restored. It’s the story behind all the stories we love — but this one actually happened.

It doesn’t ignore sorrow. It takes it seriously. It doesn’t offer escapism. It offers redemption. It doesn’t flatter us. It tells us the truth — that we are more broken than we care to admit, and more loved than we dared to hope.

The cross is the plot twist no one saw coming: the King dies for the rebels. And the resurrection? That’s not a comforting end to the story — it’s the beginning of something entirely new.

Why it matters

If you’re a Christian, this isn’t just a story you believe. It’s the story you’re part of.

That means your life has a shape — even when it feels directionless. Your suffering has a place — even when it doesn’t make sense yet. Your daily choices matter — not because they impress God, but because they’re part of a real narrative that’s heading somewhere. A story with a beginning, a climax, and a promised ending.

And if you’re a writer, this is where it gets exciting. Because the world is starving for stories that ring true. Not just logically consistent, but emotionally real. Stories that don’t just diagnose the world’s pain, but offer something more than cynicism or self-help.

You don’t have to write theology or Bible studies to tell the story of the gospel. You can write poetry. Memoir. Personal essays. Novels. Visual art. Letters. Whatever your form, let the true myth shape the way you see — and show — the world.

Let your characters wrestle with grace. Let your metaphors echo resurrection. Let your prose remind people that beauty matters — because creation matters.

We live in a world drowning in content but starving for meaning. We don’t need louder voices. We need deeper ones.

So what story are you living in?

That’s the question I keep coming back to. Because everyone lives by some kind of story. And only one of them is true.

The Bible isn’t just a collection of comforting verses or ancient rules. It’s a narrative that explains why the world is beautiful and broken, why we long for justice and home, why death feels wrong and hope feels right.

It doesn’t just offer answers. It offers meaning. It doesn’t just tell us what to believe. It tells us who we are. And it doesn’t just give us something to stand on. It gives us a story to live in — and to live for.

This is not just a story to believe. It’s the story you were made for.

What story have you been living in — and how did you know it wasn’t enough? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

© Nathan Cole

Originally published on Medium.