It would seem that the British actor Ralph Fiennes has reached the conclusion that Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris because of his “remarkable gift” as a storyteller.

“Trump told the best story, whether you like it or not” he is reported to have said. If he did then Fiennes may have a point because people often understand things better when they are told stories, as many a preacher will confirm.

In that sense then you could say I am a professional storyteller. I am a very contented one too because I believe the story of Jesus (whose birth we will soon celebrate) offers us the chance to understand who we are and how to experience life to the full. For many of course it is little more than a fairy tale that owes its origin to the creative imagination of the early church. But I beg to differ. I know it is both relevant and can prove life changing, which is why I spend so much of my time sharing it.

For example, it tells us that we are not evolutionary flukes but rather we have been created in the image of an all loving, all powerful God who brought everything into existence by simply saying ‘Let there be’ and there was! That means we are very, very special. Discovering that in itself can prove a life-transforming experience.

I will always be grateful to the academic who introduced me to Charles Cooley’s concept of the ‘looking glass self’. Cooley realised that a person’s self-image is established by what he or she thinks the most important person in their life thinks of them. To know you are special to the Creator of the Universe then is so affirming that it’s hard to find words to describe it. If you want a positive self-image then I would encourage you to embrace the Jesus story or rather allow it to embrace you.

Even better, living as we do in a messed-up world, a world in which people can behave badly, the Jesus story offers us hope because it tells us that everyone of us can become like Jesus Himself. That is a mind-blowing assertion, but it means that if we respond positively to the Christian message and allow it to shape our lives, we will end up carbon copies of that extraordinary man who was born in an obscure stable some 2000 years ago but will return in glory someday.

It promises us that we can discover a satisfying purpose in life too, and we all need to have a sense of purpose. Personally, I can think of none greater than serving the God who knows what I should do with my life because He is the one who designed me in the first place. Being a Christian then, is more than believing the right stuff - it means giving your life to God in the confidence that nothing we do for Him will ever prove a waste of time, even if we have to wait a long time to see the proof.

I could go on, but I suppose the main reason I love to tell the story of the God who became a baby and ultimately defeated death is because rather than being a flight of fancy it is anchored in history and therefore trustworthy.