The Meta-Narrative

Hello everyone, this scribbled reflection came to light in a drawer of documents in my bedroom. I read through it wondering who wrote it, then realised that I did, some time ago. This sort of surprise doesn't happen very often, but I thought it worth sharing again, especially since 'doom scrolling' social media seems to yield increasingly bleaker results in the areas of climate change, politics, social structure disintegration, and natural disasters.

 I believe as Christian authors, the thing that ties our work together is the meta-narrative. In other words, it's the far broader story into which our smaller stories fit. This is true whether our fiction has overt Christian themes or slides more covertly into secular markets. Our stories share some of the following points, or at least never deny them.

 

* Jesus died for us on the Cross and all who look to him receive forgiveness of our sins, eternal life and covenant care from this moment forward.

 

* God is the higher power shaping history behind the scenes. This includes the broader brush strokes of world history, as well as the more humble, hidden histories of individuals.

 

* There is no need for us to worry about anything, when we decide firmly in our hearts that since we see a limited picture, we will trust entirely in the creator and caretaker who sees the whole. For he stewards us just as he endorses us to steward the world.

 

* There is WAY more going on than what we perceive with our five senses or read in the media.

 

I think it's easy to sense the difference between our writing and the writing of others with a different, bleaker, more Nihilistic or pessimistic meta-narrative. While our writing offers hope and encouragement, theirs may fit the type of literature which makes readers feel hopeless and despondent, for no apparent reason.

 

May God bless you all, as you go ahead and spread joy and peace through your written words. Have you ever sensed the subtle difference I'm speaking of?

Paula Vince is the award-winning author of several Christian fiction novels set in her state of South Australia. She also has Post Graduate Diplomas in Divinity and Creative Writing. Once based in the Adelaide Hills, Paula now lives in the breathtaking coastal region. Once a homeschooling parent, she and her husband are now very recent empty-nesters.