Life as a Hero’s Journey

People often think of their lifestyle as a way of life, a non-directed set of random events that affect how they live and how character develops. As an author, I see each life as a story, a plotline headed toward some place envisioned by the Author of that life, a character arc. As Christopher Vogler wrote in The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, each character is the hero of his or her own journey.

As any good storyteller knows, character arc is developed through challenges encountered and overcome, especially those presented by the forces of the Shadow and by one’s own flaws. The Author of Lives also presents each person with challenges. These are designed to reveal character flaws to be overcome and to drive the person to more and more reliance on Him.

Storytellers also know that characters can take on lives of their own; they can go off in directions not intended by the author. God knows, the characters of Hisstory are rebellious, often not following the plotlines set up for them. God also knows how to rewrite plots, re-establish old or set up new heroes’ journeys.

The Author of History has also written hero’s journeys for various levels of peoples. Families can follow on-going sagas, as illustrated by the Kennedys or Duck Dynasty’s Robertsons. (The Goads of Quixtar/Amway are another fine example.)

Ethnic groups and nations have their own stories. The history of Great Britain is an intermingling of Celts, Angles, and Saxons; Gaels, Picts, and Scots; with Scandinavian Norsemen and Frenchified Normans. The form of British government has flowed from pagan tribal monarchies through Christian feudal lordships to today’s humanist royal figureheads and socialist parliament.

America has its own storyline. Settled early on by believers who sought to worship God their own ways, the North American colonies were envisioned as places for religious freedom from which missionaries would evangelize the world. Many are the references in the various state constitutions to God’s purposes for their existence.

But America has turned away from the King. We have forsaken God’s Law to live by humanistic philosophies. We have allowed the government to interfere in the free market, in the education of our children, in our exercise of worship. We have been living through the destruction of the economy, the self-control of our citizens, our morals, and our lives. God’s judgment is to let us suffer the consequences of our self-will.

As with Nineveh in the Book of Jonah, the only way to deliverance is through turning back to God for His mercy and grace. The only way to save our country is to return to obedience to God’s Law, to following His way of doing things.