I'm excited to share a really fun story today. It will take a little setting up but stick with me because this will kick your week off with a big smile.
Have you heard? Story is all the rage these days. Everyone is talking about it. Your story. My story. God's story. From a Christian perspective, here are some of the messages people are trying to bring across:
• Our stories matter to God.
• Our individual stories are part of God's larger story.
• God's glory is magnified when our stories intersect with one another.
At Walk Right In Ministries, we have focused on what we call Glory Stories. These are stories that reflect God's presence in our lives — emphasizing the way God is active in our circumstances and the way we see Him revealing Himself through our trust and obedience.
There is great opportunity in these story-telling trends, particularly as it relates to building awareness about our relationship with God and to the extent that it facilitates growing intimacy in that relationship. But there are a couple of things I remain prayerfully on guard about.
In elevating the idea of story, I hope we keep in perspective Who is the star of the show. After all, our story would not exist without the Author-Creator and Savior-Redeemer.
I also hope that by thinking about our stories in the context of God's story we grasp the reality that the stories of the Bible are, in fact, part of our historical record. I remember the exact season in my personal faith journey when a critical transition occurred for me. Those Bible stories I had been hearing as a child were no longer just morally good or entertaining tales that educated me about God. My eyes and heart were opened to the profound reality that those people I was learning about were my ancestors and that my life story was about a relationship with the living God!
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
I am excited and grateful to say I had received a touch from the Holy Spirit that forever changed the way I experienced scripture and my relationship with God. The Word of God had come alive to me. God had taken the more limited perspectives and attitudes of my childhood and grown them up into a soul-changing, life-altering understanding of the Bible's stories. That is a process of enlightenment that continues for me yet today and what a precious adventure it is.
Now here's the treat. Watch Peter recount this great story from the Bible and ask God to show you how you connect with it. Ask the Holy Spirit for an historical awakening within your soul.
FATHER GOD, thank you for being the author and perfecter of my faith. Please continue to work in my mind and heart deepening my sense of the truth of who I am in the history of Your creation. Increase my appreciation for how my story fits into the larger story of "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done." And, Lord Jesus, I want to pray for the children I know who are learning the great stories of the Bible. Awaken them to the truth of their history in relation to You. God, please cause my story to intersect with someone else's story this week in such a way that You are made known and glorified! AMEN
