The Beauty of His Story: Good & Evil

My most favorite epic stories (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Gladiator, Independence Day, Doctor Who... I could go on forever) all include that most basic storytelling element: good versus evil. There's a hero (good) and antagonist (evil) who stand in opposition to each other, each fighting to get his (or her) own way as we read or watch with baited breath waiting to see who will win.

God, being the original and ultimate author, writes a story with this same central theme. There is both good and evil present here (as watching any news show will tell you). And they stand in opposition to each other, each fighting to get his way.

Now, you probably already know this, but God is good. We seem to have a hard time believing this (myself included), but it doesn't change the facts. Throughout the Bible, God is celebrated as being good because what He does gives us evidence of it. David says it quite often:

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever."

1 Chronicles 16:34 (NLT)

"Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!"

Psalm 34:8 (NLT)

"You are good and do only good..."

Psalm 119:68 (NLT)

God is faithful and His love endures forever; therefore, God is good. God provides protection to those who seek it; therefore, God is good. God does only good; therefore, God is good. God cares for His children; therefore, God is good. God rescues His people from physical slavery (in Egypt) and spiritual slavery (more on that in another post); therefore, God is good.

Satan, on the other hand, is evil. Again, I'm pretty sure you already knew that. If you read my post about him a few weeks ago, you probably got that picture pretty clearly from his bent toward destruction. The Bible describes him as a prowling lion (1 Peter 5:8) and the father of lies (John 8:44). Nothing he does is good.

So how does this battle of good versus evil play out in God's story?

God creates the world and man and declares it all good (Genesis 1). Satan swoops in and leads Adam and Eve to eat the fruit. Now man knows the difference between good and evil and we have a choice between the two. Satan keeps working and Cain kills Abel. In a matter of generations, evil has become so great that God decides to wipe out what He created and start over (Genesis 6:5-7). But Satan keeps on fighting, leading us farther and farther along the path of evil that he seems to be winning. It gets to the point where only God can truly be described as good (Luke 18:19). Paul spends the first few chapters of Romans describing just how far from God we really are:

"Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy."

Romans 1:29-31 (NLT)

It certainly looks like Satan is winning.

But he's not the only one fighting for his way.

See God has already stepped in delivered the fatal blow. When Jesus died on the cross, He provided the opportunity for us to trade our evil for His good (Romans 3:23-24). We talked last time about God creating new hearts for us. These are good hearts. They are hearts that allow us to do the good works we were meant to do (Ephesians 2:10) and produce good fruit (Colossians 1:10) because the Holy Spirit is working in them. Every time we do, we wage war against Satan and evil: "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good." (Romans 12:13, NLT) 

You know how you cheer each time the hero chooses to do the right thing? Yeah, we've got people cheering us on, too. It's all the people who have gone ahead of us, who have already run the race. They're cheering for good to conquer evil, because all the best stories end that way. SPOILER ALERT: Good totally kicks evil's butt in this story. Satan's going to get thrown in a pit of fire and be tormented forever.

So while we strive for little victories in the war against evil, let's find strength in the fact that God's already got the major victory in the bag.

What are some of your most recent victories over evil?

The Beauty of His Story

If you spend enough time with me, you’ll eventually discover that I am a literature geek. Actually, depending on the path of our conversation, it might not take you that long to figure it out. I’m the one who will make reference to my favorites whenever possible. I started reading at the age of 3 and never really stopped. My mom used to tell me to put down my book and go outside. I was the kid who stayed up late reading under the covers… well for me it was in the little closet in my room that had a light in it.

I’m a sucker for a good story with good characters and a good ending. I tend to get emotionally invested (a shocker for those who know me, I’m sure!) and have been known to want to throw a book across the room when things aren’t going well (a sign of a REALLY good book, in my opinion). But I also know that I wouldn’t love it as much without the conflict, the seemingly insurmountable odds, the evil that fights so hard to overcome the good.

Perhaps that’s why I struggle so much with the story that God is writing in my own life. I’ve had days with those “throw the book across the room” moments. Those are the moments when I’m frustrated with the author and can’t possibly believe that anything good will happen again. And then there are the days when I suddenly realize the last few chapters have been preparing me for this chapter in particular. It’s like reading a book for the first time, when you have no idea what will happen, or how, or when.

But just like any good book, there are themes running through this story. 

Not just my story but all of history. Themes like light & darkness, good & evil, creation & destruction, hope & despair, life & death, love & hate, bondage & freedom. Actually, those are pretty much the same themes that show up in all the books I love most. And I love those books because the good side usually wins. Want to know the best thing about God? He’s an author intent on the good side getting total victory.

It wasn’t always like this. The story started long before time began with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit hangin’ out with the angels. No opposites. No conflict. Perfect harmony.

And then Satan decided he wanted to be God.

“I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars.

I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north.

I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.”

(Isaiah 14:13-14, NLT)

And thus enters conflict.

God winds up kicking Satan out of heaven (Luke 10:18), so Satan sets up his own kingdom. When God creates the earth and human beings, Satan immediately seeks to make it his. Just like any good book, the story that God is writing has opposite themes fighting for control. In the Chronicles of Narnia, we have Aslan and the White Witch. In Harry Potter, it’s Harry and Voldemort. In The Hunger Games, it’s Katniss and the Districts versus the Capitol. In Lord of the Rings, it’s Frodo and Sauron. Characters and powers with opposite goals in mind. It wouldn’t be a good story without them.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to explore those competing themes, to learn more about the story God is writing. Perhaps we’ll learn about the author as we do so. After all, you can tell quite a bit about a person by the stories that they write.