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There Are Stories That Are Stories, And There Are Stories That Are True.

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.  (II Peter 1:16-18)   
        
            I'm listening to the Iliad. I can't begin to tell you how many of the characters announce that they are the son or grandson of some god. I seriously think that the author must have spent months trying to come up with new ways for people to die from wounds inflicted by a spear, arrow or sword. Then there are the gods, whose interactions make Survivor and soap operas look tame, who interfere on one side or the other, often appearing in the likeness of another person, and more often than not being discovered in their deception. Oh, and let us not forget the pre-battle trash talk and dying proclamations. As numerous as the stars in the heavens which rise each night and, having toured the heavens, descend again beyond the western horizon, just so were the words of the soldiers as, in agony,  they gasped out their last breaths.  
           In comparison, how simple Peter's telling of the story of one of the greatest moments in human history is. This telling of it is really a summary and it shows Peter in a comparatively favorable light. Other versions show James, John and Peter to be less than stellar disciples, and Peter even gets reprimanded by God, the Father. Peter's story lacks the grandness of a story. It reads like an ordinary, real life that includes extraordinary events.
         I love stories, but I'm beginning to understand that as fun as stories like the Iliad are, most of the time they don't change lives for the better. The story that Peter told, in its simplicity and truth, can.

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