TELLING STORIES


Growing up I spent a lot of time with my Granddad. He shared his life with me. He was my mentor and hero. He introduced me to Jesus. He always had a special saying, joke, or story that made me laugh and captivated my imagination. I would sit for hours listening to him tell me stories about his life and work. Now that he’s with Jesus, I treasure in my heart those stories for they have left their mark on me.

Everyone has a life story. Your stories include all of your experiences and all of the people who have been a part of your life. Certainly, along the pages of your life, there are people who for better or for worse have had a significant influence on you.

Like all stories, the pages that make up your life are not just meant to be written, but to be read by others. The life and practice of Christ-following is passed on, down the line, from person to person to person, from generation to generation. Christ-following is centered upon the content of the Bible. Yet, the application of that content is experienced in the trenches of everyday living. Someone has talked to you and shared the story of their life and how Jesus is a part of it. Others have been role models of the Christian life to you.

The Apostle Paul said, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8). Paul demonstrated that it is through your life that the truth the Gospel is made known to others, even as it has been made known to you.

While the stories of your life are still being written, you are called to share them and invite others to become a part of what God is doing in your life and world. You are called to role model Christ-following to others: to the people who make up your world, to your friends, to your sons and your daughters, to those in your community and to other Christians in your church. Take a look. There are people all around you; some believers and some who are not believers yet, who are looking for authentic relationships and for what it means to live as a Christ-follower. Through your friendship, you can be a tool in the hand of God to make an eternal difference in the life of someone else, to become part of the story of their lives, even as others are part of your own.

None of us has it all together—in terms of our Christian life— and none of us will, this side of heaven. The good news is that this is okay. God is still at work in your life, in spite of all your weaknesses, and wants to use you in the life of someone else. He just needs your willingness to share your life with others.

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