Living as a Good News Story in God’s Narrative
If we want to become more of who God made us to be—both individually and collectively—we don’t need another new strategy for discipleship, we need a whole new narrative. Or rather, we need to return to the Good News narrative found in Scripture. It is a narrative that can hold the entirety of God’s story while also representing the complexity and beauty of us as created, relational beings. A narrative focused on who we are and who we are becoming. A narrative that binds us to one another, where we are receiving from Jesus and living out of a sense of belonging.
Living in Jesus’ Kingdom narrative means living according to the story as Jesus tells it, through His eyes and His voice. That means our lives are not just our stories to tell—they are God’s stories. God is inviting us into something bigger than the scripts we would write for our lives.
Understanding Your Good News Story Through Scripture
The Bible is more than a book. It is God’s grand saga, almost two millennia in the making. Over fifteen hundred years, across sixty-six books and at least forty different human authors, the Bible exquisitely demonstrates God’s story. The narrative is so intricately written that no human could have created such a cohesive storyline leading to the central figure in all of human history: Jesus, God’s beloved Son, the Christ.
But what is the great story God wants to tell? Jesus meets with His disciples after His resurrection and reveals the overall story, the metanarrative, to them. His disciples are gathered in a room, afraid, when Jesus appears. In that sacred encounter, Jesus opens His disciples’ minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:44-47). That mind opening—the ability to comprehend what was once hidden—was not a result of human intellect. It was an illuminated work of the Spirit.
As Jesus tells the disciples that everything written in the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings—what we now call the Old Testament—was ultimately about Him, He reveals a truth that is central to understanding what it means to live in God’s narrative:
“This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name.”
Luke 24:46-47, emphasis added
How God Rewrites Your Good News Story
We believe this is the key to life in Christ. As our Creator, God wired our narratives into our autobiographical memory system and gave us the mechanisms of confession, forgiveness, and repentance to rewire them. As the One responsible for leading us into all truth (John 16:13), the Holy Spirit acts as our Narrator. As the author and protector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), Jesus guides and directs our steps. God is always present with us, inviting our souls, hearts, and minds into transformation.
Because of the way God designed us, He knew our lives and memories would need interpretation. God created our minds so that we cannot see all that is in front of us or perceive all there is to know. We are witnesses through the lens of our own perception. The Holy Spirit is the One who brings us back to Jesus, again and again, and makes clear what we could never understand on our own.
The closer we get to Jesus, the clearer God’s intended narrative becomes. We no longer have to carry the burden of figuring out what to do with our lives, making them work, or fixing what is broken. We can let go and trust. This is the narrative that changes us. When God is at the center of our lives, He transforms our souls. He does it Himself. All we have to do is follow and receive. And once we do, once we know and believe that the purpose of this life is to live in God’s narrative, we begin to discover our place is in His story, not our own. This is the narrative we are made for: Jesus is the Messiah and Savior, the good news of great joy for the whole world (Luke 2:10).
Becoming a Good News Story Through Christ
No matter what episode or chapter you are in, your life is no longer the story of a fractured relationship with God. That relationship has already been reconciled through the cross of Christ. God—through His Spirit, His Scripture, and His people—reminds and refreshes us with the truth that He has always been and will always be. Jesus Christ is the Truth who shows us the way into resurrected life. When you begin to understand how God uses narrative, you will come to know Him more deeply and find your place in His story. Today can be the day Jesus begins to clarify your narrative and tell you who you are. Today God can begin to show you how your life is a good news story.
Living Out Your Good News Story in Community
Becoming good news is the best evangelistic and disciplemaking strategy in the world. Imagine for a moment a faith community where . . .
all stories matter equally so there are no status or power dynamics, where we stand spiritually equal before the cross and before the throne as brothers and sisters in Christ;
people live from their God-given authority—social or organizational status doesn’t matter, only their active obedience to the assignment God has given them;
we don’t need to anxiously fix one another, but we can help each other build trust in God as a good Author, a good parent, and King of the universe; and
we trust the blood of Jesus to restore all things, including our souls, and we trust the Holy Spirit with every breath and every step.
Becoming a Good News Story for Others
Becoming good news is about being made and remade by Jesus. It is the lifelong work of the Holy Spirit, transforming us from the inside out. As Jesus exchanges our fear, anger, and grief with joy, our autobiographical memory begins to change. The circumstances don’t always shift—but the tone and narrative of our lives do. Our lives move from tragedies to stories of redemption and hope. We become aligned to God’s story and learn to walk in step with Jesus. And the narrative we live in flows from who we are becoming.
The more we receive from God, the more we can share with others our sense of peace, wholeness, and freedom in Christ. This is the story of the gospel. This is the path of discipleship. This is becoming good news.
Adapted from Becoming Good News: Reimagining Discipleship Through Identity, Story, and Science by Jessie Cruickshank and Julia Schmaltz, releasing in August 2026 from NavPress.
