How else can we communicate The Story?

As I’ve stated before, I believe that much art that resonates deeply within the human heart does so because it in some way reflects The Story.  This thought was provoked several years back when I read the following summary of the spiritual warrior’s authority in A Discipleship Journey by Dave Buehring (which I highly recommend if you’re looking for a good, comprehensive Bible study):

• God has all power and authority (Job 42:2; Mt. 28:18).
• God gave man authority to reveal His image and glory (Gen. 1:26); to have dominion (means to subdue, conquer, to bring into subjection) over the Earth and every living thing on the Earth (Gen. 1:28); all things are under man’s feet (Ps. 8:6-8).
• Through deception, sin and disobedience, man opened the door to Satan and lost dominion (Gen. 3:1-13).
  • Satan became the ruler of this world.
  • Man suffers the consequences of sin, sickness, disease and death.
  • Apart from Jesus, Man has no authority of his own.
  • Satan has authority on the Earth to the degree that people give him access through their sin and disobedience to God.
• Jesus was sent by the Father to defeat Satan and to establish God’s authority through the church…
• Jesus passed His authority on to the church
  • Jesus has given believers authority over the powers of darkness (Mt. 16:19; Lk. 10:19).
  • New Testament believers did many of the same works as Jesus: they received authority to heal sickness and diseases (Acts 3:1-10); they received authority to raise the dead (Acts 9:36-43); they received authority over demons (Acts 16:16-18); they received authority to preach the gospel so that men and women could come to Jesus (Mt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15-18).
  • This same authority has been given to us as believers today so that God’s Kingdom might be advanced in the lives of people and in the nations of the earth (Lk. 10:19; Jn. 20:19-23; Rom. 8:31; Jam. 4:7; 1Jn. 4:4).

Can’t you see echoes of all great stories in this?  Man is given authority but loses it through his own misdeeds and Satan usurps authority.  The rightful king is toppled from the throne.   The aimless youth is ignorant of his royal heritage.  The chosen deliverer is unaware of the untapped magic within him.  The self-centered rebel becomes aware of a much higher calling on his life.

One little-known book that captured and highlighted some of this for me was The Oneprince by Bill Hand.  Hand created a world of humans, rats, and badgers, and when he bats around names like Pentatutinus, Josiah, and Yerushela, you know he’s got some Biblical analogy going on, but he keeps you guessing (is the wizardess named Iscara who lives in Magdalawood symbolic of Judas Iscariot or Mary Magdalene or both?  I’m still trying to get ahold of the out-of-print third book in the series to find out).