I have often thought that there is a kingdom reason for why we love movies like the “Rocky” stories and other tales of the underdog overcoming long odds to victory.  I have often thought that these stories, although not truly reflective of what Christ has done for us in redeeming us back to the Father, these stories ignite an inner desire in all of us that there can be a renewed life, that we can overcome our human frailties and unfortunate circumstances to reach our potential.  I have much more to say about this, but this one quote I found tonight reinforces this thought of a kingdom reason for the appeal of these types of stories.  Darrin Patrick writes the following:

“The gospel is the most beautiful story in the history of the world. In fact, the reason that other stories are beautiful–the reason we love movies novels, and biographies that are saturated with redemption themes–is that they are an echo of the story. All good stories follow the same basic plotline of the gospel: the struggle between good and evil before an eventual triumph of good over evil. Tension, then harmony. Redemption. Sacrifice. Betrayal. Love. Suffering. Victory. Screenwriters have co-opted the gospel story to literally make billions of dollars.  Pause for a moment and think about how many story lines from how many movies rip off the gospel story. There is a reason for this. The story of redemption captures the human heart, inviting and challenging us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves." 

– Darrin Patrick, from his book Church Planter, cited by Sam Haist on his blog Posterous. 

Retrieved November 7, 2010 from http://samhaist.posterous.com/all-good-stories-echo-the-gospel.