Spoiler alert! If you have not read my book, buy it now and come back to the post after you’ve read it all the way through!

“You’ve heard it said: no hero, no story. I will add this: no Savior, no hero.”

Let’s start by defining some terms. There are two pronouns I will be using many times throughout this post. So, it’s only fair you understand what I mean.
A Hero is “the principal male character in a literary work.”
A Savior is “one who brings salvation, Jesus Christ; or One who saves from disaster, danger, peril, etc.”

In the setting of an adventure novel, we tend to believe that the hero of the story is the triumphant victor. After all, the very word “hero” makes us think of someone who will always win out eventually by his super intelligence, skill, and power. In other words, the hero is the whole story and achieves the story goal with just a little help from some side characters no one likes to mention. Right?

The hero of Chained is named Adrian Falkner. He is simply the main male character of the book. That’s it, that’s his whole role {and he doesn’t get a salary}. He doesn’t have to be spectacular at everything {he’s not} or always win {he doesn’t}. Because, as fun as it can be to have super-human heroes, wouldn’t you rather someone who struggled and failed like you?

Yet, we do want the triumphant win over the enemy. So, instead of a hero, we need a Savior.

There’s a vast difference between the hero of the story and the Savior of the story. The hero has a story goal and tries desperately to reach it. The Savior always accomplishes it. 

I will give an example from Chained. {If you haven’t stopped reading this post yet and bought Chained, this is your final warning to read the book first.}

Adrian is determined to kill Death, to avenge his sister’s tragedy and end his pain. Yet, try as he might, Adrian can’t grasp his sword long enough to achieve his story goal! He ends up hurting himself more the longer he fights. Finally, Adrian Falkner believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Savior had been waging war against Satan for Adrian’s soul the whole time, but Adrian had to make his choice. Once Jesus Christ gained Adrian’s trust, the Savior began to fight Adrian’s battles. Through the work of the Savior, Adrian defeats Death, restores relationships, and his heart ceases its bleeding.

The hero has a story goal and tries desperately to reach it. The Savior always accomplishes it. Without Christ, Adrian was still a hopeless mess trying to ward off an untouchable enemy. With Christ, Adrian becomes a fearsome warrior ready to take on the enemy with a Sword in hand!

Adrian Falkner is the hero of Chained. We follow him around and watch him fail miserably, then rise to his feet and try again. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the book. We don’t see Him at work until His light bursts onto the scene so brilliantly that He vanquishes all evil with triumphant grace. 

No Savior, no hero. No hero, no story. Yet, there is a Savior who rescues from all evil and a hero to fight with Him. And Chained isn’t the only book with this balance – many other Christians who write incorporate the hero/Savior balance, too.

What about your life’s story? Do you have the Savior who rescues from all evil? Are you the flawed hero {or heroine} struggling and fighting alongside the Savior who will always win?