His Story

"The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?" (Matthew 13:10)
Part of the way Jesus drew people to himself was through the stories he told.  Matthew, Mark and Luke all record stories Jesus told to give a message.  The story of the prodigal son, the lost sheep, the scattered seed, the talents, the lamp on the stand, the lost coin and on and on.  Up until just a few moments ago I assumed these stories were "made up", carefully crafted to make a point.  But now I wonder and maybe guess that these stories were about real people.  After all Jesus was God.  He knows all of our stories.  And perhaps he chose to use a real farmer, a widow, a rebellious son and a shepherd to teach everyone something about Himself.

Now I am going to take it a step further and say, I believe that Jesus is still using our stories to teach others about Himself.  The difference now is it's left up to us to first see what Jesus is teaching us in our story and then to tell others about what He has done and is doing in our lives.  

Everyone has a story.  It may be a "big" story about your salvation and your life doing a complete 180.  A prodigal son type of story.  People like to share those stories.  They are important.  They give hope to the unsaved and those who really feel hopeless and lost.

It may be smaller, everyday stories.  Like how God sent just the right person along to tell you just what you needed to hear.  Or a song at just the right moment on the radio and it gave you peace and comfort.  These stories remind us He is a God of details.  He cares about everything in our lives. 

But my favorite story is when your story and my story intersect.  The times when God is preparing 2 (or more) people for a special work and then at just the right moment He brings them together and really cool things happen.  My pastor at our church in Iowa told me, "You have story and I have a story and He has a story and she has a story and God has brought us all together here for a reason."  It is a giant beautiful tapestry and He uses our stories to connect us to Him and to each other.  The things that cause knots in the tapestry are when people don't believe their stories and past experiences matter.  These are lies the enemy wants us to believe.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

When we see Jesus working in our lives, our response should be like Peter and John-"As for us, there's no question—we can't keep quiet about what we've seen and heard." (Acts 4:20)

God is doing amazing things among His people.  When we reach out to each other and share our stories, His stories.  We are going to be shocked at how He is preparing us for amazing things. 

Blessings,
joy