Tell Your Story

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he [Jesus] said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38 ESV).

 

The more we read the Bible in terms of stories, the more we discover how important story-telling is for us today. The church has a long tradition of storytelling (we often call it testimony), but we can easily lose sight of that. Sometimes we get the mistaken idea that biblical doctrine is the most important thing to talk about. We listen to doctrinal sermons and talk about doctrine in our Bible classes. Biblical doctrines are crucial, since without them our stories will quickly wander off-track. But the doctrines of the Bible are only the backdrop against which the real action takes place. The Master Storyteller is weaving our lives into his story of making all things new.

 

When you worship with fellow Christians, you’re not just attending a meeting; you’re telling stories. As Scripture is read, you’re recounting the story of what God has done, and as its teachings are applied, you’re setting the stage for the next chapter in God’s story. Also, as believers share together in conversation, they fill each other in on the past week’s development in the story that God has been creating in their lives. Even family conversations over dinner can and should be a testimony of what God has done that day. We can easily miss this at times, relegating any conversation about God to the pastor’s sermon. Our conversations should not deteriorate into mere small talk.

 

So, let’s experiment a bit. In a comment below, or an email and/or message, tell the story of what God has been doing in your life recently. Whether it has been painful or not, whether it has been difficult or not, tell the story. At the very least we can then understand each other in a greater depth and pray for one another in a way that will lead to a sharing of the burdens we feel. I know your story will be essential to all of us… and I know it will be just what we need to hear at this moment in our lives. That’s imply how God works!