What’s Your Story?
February 26, 2008 3:00 pm Blogs
Last Sunday at church we had a special service called “A Day of Worship in Song and in Story.” We sang more than usual and had four different people share their stories. Stories of spiritual journey and becoming a Christian, stories of the gospel becoming real and taking root in their lives, stories of coming to love Jesus’ church…it was a special time. Everyone has got a story and those stories are important. Here’s why…
1. Story is the substance being human.
Stories are the reason for every book, comic, TV show, movie and song. Everything is about stories. Story is the description of who you are and where you have come from. It’s lessons learned, characteristics defined, events portrayed, and how a person is formed. Everyone has a story. A history or a chain of circumstances and experiences that have brought them to where they are today. When you reflect back on your life certain memories come to mind that have been key in making you who you are today. Story is where you have come from, where you are and where you are going.
2. The Bible is a book of stories.
Several books of the Bible are almost purely story…Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Sammuel, 1 & 2 Kings, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts…we call them the genre of “narrative.” Tons and tons of stories. The Bible is a book of stories, not in the sense that they are fiction. Sometimes story can mean that, like a story is just something you tell but didn’t really happen. But the Bible is a book of stories, a collection of people’s lives whom God really and truly worked in. Stories are so significant. You think of the story of Abraham, or Moses, or Ruth, or David, or Peter or Paul…such signficant stories. Stories help us so much to be able to think of our own story and where we are at and how we need God to work in our lives.
3. Every story is meaningful because of the big story.
Some people want to say there is no big story, there is no objective absolute truth, there is no metanarrative. It’s funny how they say that like they think it’s true (objectively/absolutely). But the only reason why any story has any significance at all is if people are more than just biological and historical processes. Meaning only exists if there is a God who exists outside of and over and above it all to say that the things we feel and the things we experience matter in some way. All the stories in the Bible are meant to point us to the one big story, the story of God. It’s a story of how human beings are a mess but God sent his Son in the world to save the mess. You see, you can have a story and you can share that story but that story will massively lack meaning and depth because your story is meant to point to a bigger story, the story of Jesus. And until you connect your story to that story it is just a meaningless record of pain and frustration that cannot help you or anyone else.
4. Stories are meant to be told.
Stories are stories for a reason. The first step is to think about your story, sometimes that is a thing which really helps you grow and helps to form you as a person. Then you ought to share your story, because the reason you have a story is so it can be told. You can never really know a person until you hear their story and once you hear that story there is a joining together that happens and if you’ve connected your story to the big story that joining is a joining in worship and thanks and love toward God. The Resolved Church in one sense ought to be a group of people who are always sharing our stories in our city all the time. There are always new chapters being added and in each chapter we tell the great story of who Jesus is, what he has done, what he is doing in our lives, and what he has yet to do in soon coming days.
I’m sure much of our time in heaven will involve the sharing of stories. So start working on your story. Start listening to other’s stories. And as you make much of Jesus in your story God will use that to speak to you and anyone who hears it.
- Pastor Duane