For thousands of years, the people of God have been telling stories of His mighty deeds. It is these stories that form our communal identity as believers; it is these stories that help us remember who we are and whose we are, and that remind us how we got where we are.
Testimony is vital for the encouragement of the Church and the spread of the good news of Jesus Messiah. In Revelation 19, the enemy is defeated by two things: the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. This is because Jesus' saving work on the cross has immense value and power, but its meaning to the world is found in the kind of communities which that saving work forms and the kind of alternative existence that we embody. What a victory it would be for the enemy if men never saw the significance of the blood of the Lamb because our communities stopped embodying the cause for which Christ died - the kingdom of God.
So, as Christians, stories of God's saving work in the world, of his redemption and grace, should constantly be dripping from our tongues - an eternal song that will never be silenced. We should constantly be recounting the mighty deeds of the God who did not abandon the world but sent his son to reconcile all men to himself.
This weekend, we had the opportunity to do just that. We were invited to teach a class at Soul Link, an annual youth convention is Houston, TX. We had a 45 minute time slot, which could have been used for a lot of things, but we decided that the best way to approach our topic "Counter-culture" was to tell stories about life in the upside-down Kingdom of God. So we told some stories. We told stories about Moo Moo and Allenia, Riley and Flora, Cecilia and Carl - stories of hope and struggle, stories about the power of the love of Jesus to break down walls and build bridges and form relationships out of nothing but a prayer.
Sometimes I think that the storyteller is blessed way more than the hearers. I know this was the case in Houston. Storytelling is an act of creation, and each time we tell a story about the Kingdom, the truths that the story points to are formed in our hearts anew. So, each time Josh tells about the lessons of kindness he has learned from Moo Moo, kindness finds deeper roots in his heart. Each time I recount the power of love in our relationship with Carl and CiCi, I become more convinced of the power of love and more ready to live that love out.
Let us encourage you to be storytellers. Sit down around the table with your family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors; and tell the stories of God. And if you find yourself saying, "What stories do I have to share?" then pray that God will bring His kingdom in your heart and life this week. He is faithful.
