The World's Story

The story of Joseph is often cited as the best example of how God makes good out of evil. It’s a great story and, if you haven’t read it, I recommend doing so (Genesis 37-50). For the sake of this post, I’ll offer a brief summary here.

Joseph had a dream that his brothers and parents would eventually bow before him. He told this dream to them (probably not a good idea) and, subsequently, his brothers sold him as a slave (a worse idea). Despite setbacks, Joseph rose to power in Egypt. He was able to interpret the pharaoh’s dream that a famine was coming. When a severe famine struck the land, Joseph’s brothers traveled to Egypt to buy grain. They came upon Joseph and, not recognizing him as their brother, they bowed before him.

The dream had come true, but in a very messy way. Joseph later revealed his identity to his brothers: “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” (Genesis 45:4-5) He went on to say, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.” (Genesis 50:20)

As I said in the first sentence of this post, Joseph’s story is said to be the paradigmatic story of God’s providence. In the face of evil, God is able to bring about His purposes. Hidden in the brothers’ sinful intentions and hidden in the messiness of the story, God is at work to ensure that His intentions prevail.

While I agree that Joseph’s story is a great example of God’s providence, I think that it merely points to a story that is far greater. The story of Joseph, we must say, points to the story of Jesus. If we’re going to define providence as God’s work to somehow (invisibly) work good out of evil, then Jesus’ story is the story without equal. At the peak of human evil, when the Son of God was rejected and crucified, God brought about His greatest work: Jesus rose from the dead.

It should not be surprising that the story of Joseph points to the story of Jesus. Indeed, they share the same Author. In both cases, it is God who writes the story. What makes the story of Jesus different, however, is that the Author has entered the story as a Character. When the Word of God took on human flesh in Jesus of Nazareth (see John 1), the Author of the world’s story became its central Character.

This begs the question: What is the place of Christians in this story? The fact that Jesus has risen from the dead and ascended into heaven seems to end the story. The story, however, is not over. If anything, Jesus’ resurrection is more like a sneak-peek of the story’s true End. Jesus is clear in saying that He has gone to prepare a place for us, and that the story will not end until He returns to take us to Himself. (John 14:3) Ultimately, the Day of Jesus’ return will be the End of the universe’s story.

The question remains: What is the place of Christians in the story? Christians are characters in the story who trust that God is indeed the Author, that in Jesus He has entered the story, and that His Spirit is guiding us to the story's fulfillment. Despite all evidence to the contrary and despite the messiness of the story, the Christian trusts that God is at work and this His purposes will prevail. Thus, the Christian also hopes for the happy End. Despite the common doubt that Jesus isn’t coming back and that the dead will never rise again, the Christian hopes that God will fulfill His promise.

Finally, the Christian also loves his fellow characters. Such love is not an attempt to write the story on one’s own, since it is God who is the ultimate Author and who alone ensures the happy End. If the Christian tries to write the story on his own, he thereby forfeits the trust that God is the Author and loses the hope that God’s End will prevail. Nevertheless, by God’s grace the Christian participates in the writing of the story, loving his fellow characters.

Ultimately, we are minor characters in the story, following the Character around whom the whole story revolves. We are Jesus’ followers. We are those who trust in the Author, who hope for the End He has promised, and who steadfastly love our fellow characters.