How do you change society? Through violent revolution? Gradual reform? “Neither,” replied Ivan Illich, “If you want to change society, then you must tell an alternative story” (Roman Catholic priest and philosopher, 1926-2002).

As I opened class the other day, a resident in our program caught me off guard. Looking troubled, he asked me how a little boy could get eaten by an alligator.

I had no idea what he was talking about nor what was behind his question. So, I asked him for more information. He claimed that about a year-and-a-half ago a young child was eaten by an alligator somewhere in Florida. He was bothered that such things could occur in a world created by God.

The real concern behind his question was, Why does God permit such seemingly random, senseless, and awful things to happen if he is all-loving, all-wise, and all-powerful?  

I did not respond with a philosophical argument or theological apologetic. (I leave that to smarter people.) Nor did I go into teacher mode and give a lesson about how things like problems and trials are opportunities to develop character and mature us as human beings (my tendency given my motivational giftings and issues with pride). Instead, I told a story.

The story.

Before I summarize what I said, a few things. First, I searched the internet and, tragically, a 2-year-old boy, Taylen, was found dead in the mouth of an alligator in St. Petersburg, Florida, nearly two years ago. Even more horrific, his own father had thrown him into a lake by their home where the boy drowned and was subsequently retrieved by an alligator. Second, the subject of suffering and evil—more than any other matter—has been the greatest stumbling block for people of faith and no faith. It is more than a theoretical conundrum, it is a personal, painful reality we all experience. Third, I do not pretend to have some solution that will magically settle all the questions or eliminate one’s sorrow. No, but I do (as well as you) have something better. A story that not only sheds important light on tragedy and loss but also provides the needed comfort, wisdom, and hope to patiently and joyfully endure the fallenness and brokenness in which we find ourselves.

One more thing, something about the power of story. Our attitudes, behaviors, beliefs and convictions, what we deem important or not, what we see, hear, and feel (and don’t), . . . how we process all the events of our lives, is filtered through the operative narrative controlling our lives. That is why two people can experience the exact same set of circumstances and yet respond in completely opposite ways. We never go from action to reaction without our experiences being first processed through our given story. That story, in turn, determines our reactions. Of course, very little of this “processing” is conscious but part of a highly developed internalized coping system that makes us uniquely who we are.

For instance, there was a young lady in our program years ago who had extremely high sensitivities to potential danger. She was the female version of Jason Bourne (played by Matt Damon). She could enter a room and sniff out who posed possible threats, where the exits were, and what to do if attacked. Safety was her single priority. She positioned herself for what she believed was the inevitable—invasion, violation, . . . destruction. Her automatic instinct was to trust no one and no thing. Why? Having been sexually abused, she was traumatized. Consequently, she was always on guard—stressing and fretting. Her perceptions and interpretations in every social setting were governed by her framing story—“Life is cruel. People are out to get you. Don’t get close. The only person you can count on is yourself.” Others could walk into the same room and have a totally different experience and see friendly faces and multiple opportunities for love. She could not.

This explains why it is not the actual events of our lives that determine our way of being in the world but our explanations of those events. The story we tell ourselves determines how we think and feel and, accordingly, act.

Now for the story that I told in class that afternoon relative to the boy who was “eaten” by an alligator. 

Act 1: It all began in Eden. Beauty, order, harmony. Truth. Goodness. Dignity. Connection and belonging. Love, peace, joy. Human flourishing. Life abundant.

Act 2: The unexpected. Fall. Death. Separation. Destruction. Pain and suffering. Evil. Lying, stealing, killing. Breakdown. Oppression. Wickedness. Selfishness. Despair. Guilt. Shame.  

Act 3: God’s heart breaks. His children are in misery. They are confused, controlled. Fearful and hateful. They have lost their way. So, God sets in motion a plan to redeem his creation. He calls an unlikely man and woman to himself so that they might be a blessing to the whole world. Abraham and Sarah set out on God’s promises, trusting that he will pour out his grace both upon them and through them and their seed. The people of Israel are born. A nation chosen by God to be a channel of God’s healing to all nations. But his people forget their purpose and turn inward. They rebel and persist in their disobedience despite the many exhortations and warnings of the prophets.

So, God takes it upon himself to do what his people could not accomplish. He puts on flesh and, at infinite cost to himself, launches Operation Rescue. Through his perfect life, agonizing death, and resurrection, Jesus becomes the portal of the kingdom of heaven right here, right now. He establishes a new Israel, the Church, to join with him in his mission of liberation and reconciliation and, before ascending into heaven, commissions his disciples to be his witnesses, promising his abiding presence until the very end of the age.

This Act consummates when Christ comes the second time. Then he will bring to completion the renewal he began 2,000 years ago. All will be made well. Wrongs will be righted. Violence ended. Death destroyed. Righteousness will flow like a river from his throne. Heaven will kiss earth. No more sorrow, tears, or pain. God will dwell forever with his people. The paradise lost by the first Adam in Genesis will be restored by the second Adam (Christ) in Revelation.

This is the one true Story of the world!

While many decry that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, as believers, we know this is not at all true. God has not abandoned the planet. He is on the move—redeeming, reviving, reuniting, . . . bringing all things together in himself. Jesus, as the firstborn from the dead and the first fruits of all the glory that is to come, is the guarantee that the healing started will reach its full and complete course, “infecting” every nook and cranny of the cosmos. Alligators will be tamed! Little children will skip along with lions and infants play with cobras (see Isaiah 11:8-9)!

Not all the “whys” and “how comes” of our own particular drama are addressed by this Story. Many of our pressing questions will go down with us to the grave. We still mourn and lament. But our grieving is different. Knowing that there is a God who is totally invested, restoring all creation to its original goodness—making everything new—keeps us from going insane and gives us hope, courage, security, and a profound sense of gratefulness through thick and thin.

As I face the normal disappointments and heartaches of life along with the gratuitous evil and destruction that takes us all by surprise, I must learn to situate these experiences within the larger framework of God’s Story. In doing so, I am assured that God not only cares but is actively doing something unimaginably wonderful about it all. God reveals at the cross his all-out assault on evil through the death of his Son, decisively defeating the principalities and powers of darkness. And then, three days later when Christ was raised to new life, resurrection-power was unleashed into the world.

The question now becomes, Where are we in this Grand Story? What time is it? The answer: We live between the Ages—between Christ’s first advent and his second—something akin to living in the days between D-Day and V-Day. For you historians, D-Day was when the Allied forces landed on the shores of Normandy, June 6, 1944. In what was called Operation Overlord, the foundation for the liberation of France and the rest of the Western front was securely put in place. That day marked the end of the war, though it was not until nearly a year later on V-Day, May 8, 1945, when the official end of WWII in Europe was declared. Those who lived between those points in time were revived in spirit, knowing that the collapse of the Nazi regime was imminent.

Friends, the new age has dawned! The devil no longer has the upper hand. We know his doom is sure. Our victory inevitable. The time will soon be here when everyone will have enough, and no one will ever be afraid. The tyranny of sin and death will be swallowed up when the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). Meanwhile, as we wait for that Day, we work with God with all our might.

Psychologist Richard Beck puts it succinctly, “The heart of our problem is narrative in nature. Healing requires telling a better story (to) myself. . . Finding this new story is how you make your way back into the light.” Christian conversion (which includes Christian addiction-recovery) is about the conscious adoption of a new master narrative . . . the Story. It is about seeing life from a new vantage, through a new lens. Of course, this is no easy task. Long held narratives are not quickly dismantled. Becoming re-storied takes every bit of effort we can muster. This is where Christian practices like reading the Scriptures, singing gospel songs, gathering around the Lord’s Table, celebrating water baptism, praying the psalms, etc. are required if we are to learn and inculcate the Story into the deepest parts of our being. At the same, we always acknowledge that apart from Grace, all our efforts are in vain. Oh, may God’s Story captivate our lives!

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning
as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons,
the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.
But hope that is seen is no hope at all.
Who hopes for what he already has?
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
(Romans 8:22-25)

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
(Joy to the World)