The fine art of storytelling has many basic elements that one must follow in order to tell a worthwhile tale. We all learn these things in grade school, a story must have exposition, rising action, climax, a protagonist, an antagonist, just to name a few. The inclusion of these elements is vital if we desire to tell a story worth hearing.
But one element that we see all the time but that we don’t often think about, the element that takes a good story and makes it great, is mystery. Not Nancy Drew, but the kind of good confusion and wonder we get from a great story, most effectively from its protagonist. The great heroes are the ones that will say things or do things that make us take a step back and wonder, 'Did I read that right?' It’s as if they’re saying, ‘hold on, you don’t have me figured out yet, I’m still work reading, I’m still worth caring about, I’m still worth following’.
Nowhere do we find this mystery more then in the narrative of the Bible. The God of the Bible is the most mysterious protagonist of all time. All throughout history we see God saying things and doing things that make us do a double take. But just like any great character, this is not mystery just for the sake of mystery, He has a clear reason for everything He does and it makes perfect sense to Him and his overall objective. The mystery is inherent because of who the character is at their core. It comes from a place of great depth, great love, great intelligence, great courage. All protagonists must be great in someway, or else they will be void of any honest mystery, and therefore, boring to follow.
-jon
But one element that we see all the time but that we don’t often think about, the element that takes a good story and makes it great, is mystery. Not Nancy Drew, but the kind of good confusion and wonder we get from a great story, most effectively from its protagonist. The great heroes are the ones that will say things or do things that make us take a step back and wonder, 'Did I read that right?' It’s as if they’re saying, ‘hold on, you don’t have me figured out yet, I’m still work reading, I’m still worth caring about, I’m still worth following’.
Nowhere do we find this mystery more then in the narrative of the Bible. The God of the Bible is the most mysterious protagonist of all time. All throughout history we see God saying things and doing things that make us do a double take. But just like any great character, this is not mystery just for the sake of mystery, He has a clear reason for everything He does and it makes perfect sense to Him and his overall objective. The mystery is inherent because of who the character is at their core. It comes from a place of great depth, great love, great intelligence, great courage. All protagonists must be great in someway, or else they will be void of any honest mystery, and therefore, boring to follow.
-jon
