The story is not over;

There was a young woman struggling under the curse of sin, though perhaps she never called it that. Depression, addiction, self-injury, suicidal tendencies – the fallout of a life of insecurity and the loss of a father, whose own demons drove him to kill himself. But this young woman stumbled on a thought – and whether she was shown it by another or it simply came to her is inconsequential – that maybe on those days when she feels like ending it, rather than putting a period on the story of her life, she could put a semicolon instead. A semicolon indicates that there is more to come; the sentence, the story, is not finished. She liked this idea so much, she had it tattooed to her wrist, so she would always be reminded.

Her idea has taken hold, and thousands of people have posted on social media their pictures of their own semicolon tattoos, reminders to themselves to see their life story as yet to be completed.

Her story. His story. Your story. My story. Our story. The Big Story. The story you just can’t put down. The story that left you in tears. The story that ended too soon. The story you can’t stop thinking about. Stories are powerful, aren’t they?

This idea of seeing my life as a story, and holding on to the hope that it isn’t over yet, is a fascinating concept. It reminds me a little of the experience I’ve had all too often (perhaps you have too), where I race through a book to find out where the story will go, how it will end, but when I reach the end I just wish it would still go on. I have come to love the characters too well, and to let them go is painful.

Viewing my own life the same way is appealing. I certainly have days where I just wish I knew where my life is leading, how it’s going to turn out, but I don’t think I’d skip ahead and read the last few chapters even if I could; walking through the story is much more fun. Yet, I can’t wait to see the ending. At the same time, the thought of the story ending is rather painful.

I don’t know the young lady who conceived of the semicolon tattoo concept. I don’t know most of the people who have followed in her footsteps. I don’t know how many of them understand the Big Story. I expect, from what I’ve seen and read about this trend, that many are holding on to the humanistic ideal of seeing onself as the hero of the story, and finding hope in the mantra “Believe in yourself.”

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If I’m the hero of my story, I don’t see much reason for hope.

That’s why I love the Big Story. The Big Story reminds me that I’m just a part of something greater. The Big Story says that God has been working since before the dawn of time to redeem his lost children, that he knew the trouble we would bring on ourselves and he crafted a plan to handle it. The hero of the Big Story is a man named Jesus – who is God himself – who entered into the story at just the right time to conquer sin and death so that all the darkness of the story will find an end, and at the end will be only light. All our shame, all the darkness we bring into the story, has been done away with, so that now we have a story of hope and peace.

The Big Story is really about him, the hero, Jesus. When we see that he is the central figure of the whole story, everything snaps into focus. It’s like that moment in a book when you suddenly shout, “I get it!” because the thing you needed to know is finally revealed and everything else finally makes sense. The Big Story makes sense when you know Jesus. When you know that he was the one promised the day mankind fell into sin in the first place. When you realize that he was the one that all the old ways pointed to. When you come to grips with the fact that he was more than just a man. When you see him pay the ultimate price, then rise triumphant from the grave. When you understand that everything that happened afterwards, all the persecution and the spread of the Gospel and the movements of nations, all are in his hand and part of his plan to bring a glorious end. As long as you know that he remains the hero of the story no matter what, then you know that it is a story of hope.

Here’s the plot twist – I’ve been a part of that story since the beginning. Since before the beginning, in fact. He tells me that before the story began, he knew me and he knew the role I would play in the story and he planned that I would be his. Now I’m at the point in the Big Story when I exist, and I play my part, but the story isn’t all about me, thank God. It’s still about him and what he’s doing, but because it is his story, I can be confident that the role he’s planned for me is a good one.

And the story isn’t over yet. I don’t know how much longer my part in it will be; I certainly hope I have a good long while to go, but I don’t even know the next chapter. What I know is that the story doesn’t end with me – it just goes on and on. And not just until the end of time; no the story continues far beyond that as well. In fact, the story never ends.

Here’s one thing I do know, because God cheated just a little and gave us all a glimpse of what’s to come – I’m actually part of the story that never ends. So are you. The hero of the Big Story won the victory, and in the last chapter he shares it with us. He’s written us into the everlasting epilogue of this life. So our story truly never ends;