“I want my life to count.” That longing is deep inside all of us, isn’t it? But how? How do we find meaning and significance? In Chapter 6 of Telling a Better Story, Josh Chatrow answers this question using 'Story Apologetics' or 'Inside-Out Apologetics.'

GETTING INSIDE SECULAR STORIES

The secular story about meaning is:

• The world has no divine, transcendent, or eternal significance.

• We have a personal sense of significance which can be satisfied with relationships, experiences, possessions, and successes (REPS).

• Even if achieved, these things do not satisfy our quest for significance, leaving a restless sense of something is missing and a longing for something more.

• Some double down and try to get more REPS or better REPS while others despair and give up on finding personal meaning altogether.

Questions to ask this narrative include:

• Can your story explain the sense that life has a purpose and your life is meaningful?

• Can you explain where this sense of meaning comes from, if matter is all there is, if everything began with a big bang and will end with a big bang?

• Is it possible that the something missing cannot be found in this world and would you consider looking at another story?

POINTING OUT TO THE CHRISTIAN STORY

Live out the Christian story of meaning, then tell the true story of meaning.

• God's hardwired us to live for a purpose because we are made in his image.

• Sin thwarts our story of meaning because it redirects us away from God and ultimately ends our stories and everything in them.

• Through Jesus Christ, God rescues us from sinful futility, gives us a reason to live, and promises eternal significance.

• Jesus is the model of living with purpose and an eternal goal. 

How do we find meaning? Find satisfying meaning in God’s redemptive story for the world and for us, as modeled by Jesus.