Does Fiction Matter?

This quote appeared at the beginning of the Pilgrim's Progress film, and it has me thinking. In the wake of terrible events unfolding throughout the world, my passion for stories can feel trite and insignificant. What use are they when people suffer, when lives are at stake, when injustice occurs?

They mean a lot.

C. S. Lewis is a beloved author, and for good reason. His stories encapsulated the truth that good conquers evil, giving hope and assurance to audiences who enjoyed his creative works. This quote certainly cuts to the heart of his purpose for writing, to point his audiences to the truth.

I firmly believe that every story unveils truths about this world. There are no "simply feel-good" stories, they all point to something that is beyond themselves. These truths are not something that humans create from within themselves, but these are truths knit into the very framework of the world we live in. Truths that God Himself has instilled into the framework of creation.

Stories reveal those truths in a way that allows us to enter in, to think and imagine, and then apply what we learn outside of the confines of the imaginative world. From an early age we use stories to teach our children about what is good, and what is wrong, how to live, how to think. It is an early tool that we use to train them.

And what do stories ultimately point to?

The goodness of God's plan for salvation. That He is sovereign, that He has conquered sin and death on the cross, and that He is coming back to make all things right.

That is a beautiful story, and that is truth.

So, when fiction is questioned, when the doubts of its necessity crowd, consider not the imaginary framework, but instead the truths that are woven within.

Keep telling stories, keep writing new ones, and always point to the King who has conquered.