Pastor's Blog: I Love to Tell the Story
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Everyone loves a good story. We might think that only children enjoy a riveting tale, but that is not so. You’re never too old to appreciate a yarn that draws you in, makes you think, and ends with all the dots connected and everyone living happily ever after.
Unfortunately, not all stories work out that way. Some stories may draw us in and make us think, but they don’t always end with clear or happy resolution. Some stories discourage and make us anxious. But the beauty of story is that you don’t have to buy it. If the story doesn’t fit your soul, you can cast it aside and replace it with a better one. Of course, that’s easier to do when the story that fails to stir us comes from others; the harder stories to let go of are the stories we tell ourselves.
Yes, you tell yourself some type of story, and more than likely, it’s some grand narrative that colors your entire view of life. So, what kind of story are you telling you? Is it a hopeful story? Is it an inspiring story? Is it an affirming story? Or is it one that is marked by dread, dullness, and failure?
What makes the difference in our self-stories is the place from which we generate them. Many times they come from what others have told us. We just buy what they offer us, in spite of the fact that the people telling them to us are often only passing down what someone gave them. Therefore, their stories may not be based in our reality. They may be based in deep dysfunction that spreads like a virus. Sometimes we make up our own stories. But these too are not necessarily based in reality, and so, they are little more than fairy tales.
My suggestion is that we take our stories from the Big Story, the Story of God’s love for a people He has fashioned for Himself, a people created in His image, a people who hold intrinsic value, a people God has sent Jesus to redeem. What difference might it make in your life if instead of buying in to someone else’s tragic tale or making up a fantasy story of your own, you rested in the promise of a God who loves you for you, a God who loves you in spite of you, and a God who loves you so much that He wants you to be a better you, even the best you?
Such is the story of Scripture. I invite you to revisit Scripture in light of this story. See it as God’s promise to embrace you and watch over you. Allow it to speak God’s abundance into your life. Then, you’ll never tire of telling it, beginning with telling it to yourself and then from a place of wholeness to tell it better to others. Now, that would be a great story to pass down from generation to generation, one that would bless all who hear it and trust themselves to it, with a conclusion that promises the happiest of ever-afters, one where we share it again and again in heaven’s glory in a way that promises never to get old.
“For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20).