“So, What’s the Story?”

A Conversation With Max Lucado

by Sandy Feit

Look on the Internet, and you’ll see Max Lucado described as a “beloved,” “engaging,” and “masterful” storyteller. Those claims are supported by his latest book, Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God, in which he paints living-color word portraits of 22 Bible characters. During a recent interview with
In Touch, Max shared his thoughts about story.

In Touch magazine: How did you become interested in the kind of writing you do?

Max Lucado: I’ve always been fascinated by stories. I have early memories of our elementary school library and discovering the shelf of biographies of famous Americans—it was a series, and I read every one: Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller . . . 

And how gracious of our God to give us the Bible as a collection of stories, as if it’s a scrapbook. I think something happens to us when we realize that we’re somehow connected to all of these people. It’s [like the discovery I made] when I was 10 years old: I went to my grandmother’s house, and hanging over her side of the bed was a picture of a man who was not her husband. I wondered, “Who is that guy?”  And she said, “Oh! You don’t know that he’s your grandfather?” I’m sure my mom had tried to tell me this, but it didn’t connect. So my grandmother began telling me about my biological grandfather, who had died from tuberculosis when he was 33 years old. I can still remember her telling me this story, and me realizing, That’s my blood! It’s my ancestor!

And I think that when we really understand these [Scripture] stories, we see that Esther and I are somehow connected. We’re related. Or Jeremiah, the weeping prophet with all that emotion, writes a book called Lamentations—somehow I’m connected to him.

ITM: So how do you craft a story to help a reader relate to Bible characters?

ML: I’ve always loved the way it’s a challenge to take a story and put enough layers or texture to it where it takes on a life of its own. We don’t have much detail about some of the characters in Scripture—just enough to intrigue us. I think that the role of a writer in the type of writing that I do is to imagine. To bring imagination to the story of Ruth and to the story of Joseph. To try to imagine what it was like when God told Sarah she was going to have a child—to try to hear that chuckle. It’s a fun thing to do.
 
ITM: How do you guard against taking too much liberty with the thoughts or details you include?

ML: In other words, “How far can you go?” That’s a good question. Here’s my thinking on it: Let’s say, for example, you’re doing a story about Peter walking on the water. You could do a whole lot creatively with the setting—in describing the ocean, the sea of Galilee, and how it’s turned into this mountain range of waves. You could write as if you’re driving the ship, and tell what it must have been like to feel the wind blow. That’s all part of the storm, so you can have a lot of creative license there. But the part where you have to be careful, I think, is when you’re trying to imagine, What was Peter thinking? You know, Why did the other disciples stay in the boat, and what caused him to get out?

In my case, I feel safe if I say things like, “Could it be that…?” “Why do you think…?” or “Maybe he was…” or “Don’t you think it must have been…?” You can’t take a stride of certitude, because you don’t know. But you can couch it in possibilities through this “imagination language.”

ITM: I know that this type of imagining helps readers “enter into” the story. So when you write a book like Cast of Characters, do you have unbelievers in mind as well as Christians?

ML: I do. My goal is to write books for people who don’t like to read books. And many of those, especially, would be people who don’t want to read a Christian book. I think my writing is real accessible. And it’s not because I’m “Mr. Academic” who tries to dumb it down. I’m not an academic person myself. But I do keep in mind people who are passing through difficult times of life, and try to write for them. I try to encourage the reader. And I hope every book that I write has a certain evangelistic appeal.

ITM: So in your opinion, what is the place and purpose of story in Scripture?
 
ML: It seems to me there’s an “upper story” and a “lower story” in the Bible. The upper story defines the overarching plan that God has—which is never going to change. He has determined how long this earth is going to be in its current state. And His plan is to woo His people back to Him and create a nation for Him.

The lower story is all the details that are going on: Atlanta running out of gasoline, the banking crisis, what are you doing about the shoes that are on sale today? You know, the details of life. Now, our tendency is to think that God’s priority is down here in the lower story. He’s involved in the lower story, but I believe He’s using lower-story events to cause us to look into the upper story. Like this banking crisis—I think it just takes us back to the upper story: God said this world isn’t going to last forever, so don’t set your hope on riches that are uncertain.

It’s an opportunity for people whose lives are “caught up” in the lower story to get back up to the upper story. Look at Joseph: after working at Potiphar’s house, he’s in prison for seven years before becoming prime minister of Egypt. Well, that lower story’s really difficult if you don’t put it in context of the Big Story—that God is using Joseph to redeem a people to Himself, through whom the Messiah’s going to be born. And the interplay between those two levels is really interesting.

ITM: Have you used this kind of thing to help people come to faith?

ML: Helping people see there’s something larger going on is a big part of bringing them to Christ. It’s kind of like my two next-door neighbors, who are both highway engineers working for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Now, San Antonio in Spanish, I’ve decided, means “under construction.” The highways are—just like every other city in America—growing and growing. It can drive you crazy. So one day I was talking to my neighbors about some construction three minutes from our houses, which we have to drive through every day. But they were not wound up about it at all, because they had both literally helped design the blueprints. Since they knew exactly how long it was going to take, they simply said, “Oh, it’s gonna be all right. It’s not that big of a deal.”

So I thought, There’s God’s perspective. We’re down here in the middle of the “traffic construction” of the banking crisis and the presidential election and all this stuff. But God has already seen the blueprints. He designed it all. So if we could somehow understand the big picture, we would trust Him. And that’s what the Bible does: It brings us up to the upper story and helps us to know there’s a Designer.