I’m not
entirely certain why stories captive my mind. Maybe it has
something to do with the emotions that a story produces or maybe it’s just because
I love the pictures my mind paints when I image the story coming to life.
I’m not
entirely certain why I love stories, but I think that it’s because a story is
where a person lives. It’s a snapshot of
who they are and what they believe and how they feel. It describes the history that molded their
future. A story gives depth to the
pictures we see of people in life.
God writes
stories. He’s actually writing a master
story. It’s called God’s plan for
man.
It started in the Garden of Eden when He created Adam and Eve and it continues on today. The story of His plan has had several hiccups.
It started in the Garden of Eden when He created Adam and Eve and it continues on today. The story of His plan has had several hiccups.
the fall man
in the Garden
the tower of
Babel
the
flood
his
convenient with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
the Hebrew
children in slavery
the
Exodus
the story of
entering the Promise Land
his
convenient with David
the stories
of the kings and prophets
the exile of
God’s people
the birth of
Jesus
his life and
His death
his
resurrection
his
convenient promise to the Church to empower us and make us His witnesses
All of these
stories are within the Master story that God is writing. He’s writing the story of Redemption.
We all have
a story. Even our very lives are a story. We
all have a beginning and we will all have an end. And somewhere there in the middle will be the
story of our lives…how we lived, how we acted, how we reacted, how we fought
and how we retreated. Forever imprinted on the pages of history will be our life, complete.
And it will all be there in the story of
God’s redemption.
The writer of
Hebrews wrote of this life as a race rather than a story. I’m quite certain that the majority of us are familiar with this passage of Scripture. Possibly, you may have committed it to
memory. But the writer shares this in
chapter 12 of Hebrews, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer
and perfecter of faith. For the joy set
before Him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. Consider Him
who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and
lose heart.”
When
studying this verse it’s so easy to only focus on our own race…our own
story. But as we look to Christ as the
perfecter of our faith, we have to look past ourselves and into the heart of
Christ.
Jesus said
of Himself, “I did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life a
ransom for many (Mark 10:45).” Jesus
also said of Himself, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed
me to proclaim good news to the poor. He
has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the
blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Looking to
Christ as the pen on the paper of our lives, I have to say, I’m
compelled to do more, to be more, to have more action on pages He pens.
There are a
few characteristics of really great stories that make the pages of a book come to
life.
First,
really great stories always start with thorough research. Even fiction stories must have an element of
truth in them. The same is true for our
lives. We have to have more than a
simple knowledge of the Word of God and we have to pray more than over our
meals. If we want the Master author to
write the story of the ages inside of us, we have to know the Master’s
heart.
The
narrative we allow Him to write is directly related to our will. And truthfully our will is evil and
wicked. On our own we are destined to be
a tragedy--an exemplary tale of how not to live.
But when we’ve studied God’s Word and when we’ve spent time in His
presence our heart and our will begins to be shaped into God’s will for our
life.
Powerful
narratives also have strong plot lines.
There is a raise and fall to the action, but it is never stagnant.
Life can
be so boring. Our spiritual lives can be
boring. Taking the easy road. Living on the edge of adventure. I’m sure some of us prefer it that way. Truthfully, there’s nothing “wrong” with staying “out
of trouble.” The less adventure there is
the less trouble we can get in. But if
we always take the easy road, if we never challenge the enemy, if we never
challenge ourselves, how we grow in the our level of trust in God.
Truthfully,
God sends us challenges or God allows challenges to occur in our lives. These situations might find us completely
unprepared. Think falling in a rushing
river while canoeing through the Grand Canyon.
Nobody wants to almost drown. But
think of the story you can tell when you get home.
Glennon
Melton says this, “Life is brutal, but it’s also beautiful. So I call life
brutiful. I’ve decided to become a
shameless truth teller.”
I really like
that…a shameless truth teller. I want my life...my story...to shamelessly tell of God's brueltal life that He created in me.
There are
many steps in writing a great story.
But of all the steps, the last one is the one that matters most. Send that tale to the press.
I want to
challenge you to use this crazy, this difficult, this overwhelming plot
that God is writing in you for good.
Invest in other people the story of your life. Share what God has brought you through. Tell them how you had to lean on your
church family when you lost your job.
Tell them what the Holy Spirit spoke to your heart when you were
suffering from depression and thoughts of suicide. Tell them how Jesus healed your life when you
had cancer. Tell them how Christ set you
free from an addiction to pron or drugs or whatever.
Tell them.
Tell those
that are lost and in the dead of night.
Better yet, turn the page and allow God to write a new chapter--a
chapter where you take your flashlight and head out into the cold rain looking
for a fatherless child. They are
lost. They’re dirty. There isn’t much to their story.
But the very
adventure that you disdain is the excitement and the hope that they need to
survive.
Jesus said
this, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be
saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who
believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison,
it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and
they will get well (Mark 16:15-18).”
Friends, if you are in a relationship with the Master
author then He is writing a beautiful story of your life. Your story, whether you like it or not, is a
part of God’s plan…a part of His story…
of redemption.
Chances are,
you won’t be asked to give your life as a martyr for Christ. You probably won’t be asked to go to a foreign
mission field. You might not be asked to
stand in front of people and share from the pages of your life. But we have all been penned to be a living
adventure of God’s redemption plan. And
a story is no good unless it’s told.
Tell your story and let Christ write stories of redemption through you.
Linking Up today with
No comments