There are some great stories in the Bible of God’s saving grace. From Noah and his family’s lift from the flood to the many that Jesus pronounced free of their sins; free of their disease, God has come into the lives of His children to save them.
Each of us has a story to tell. The story is never small if it involves God. Jesus said we were to be His “witnessesâ€. A “witness†testifies to an event or has personal knowledge of an event or person. Some stories read like the disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. Jesus has always been a part of your life. He has been a steady companion and then there are some moments on the journey when Jesus becomes very real and revelation illuminates your relationship with Him. Other stories are more like a wrestling match between the world and God and, make no mistake, a choice must be made. The choice may be a surrender where you hand over ‘your way’ and accept Jesus’ way. The choice could be a Damascus road event where suddenly a situation or moment dramatically brings you to the place where you must choose because Jesus becomes so very real to you. And there are stories that fall in every space between those noted!
My parents raised me in a home where God was a visible part of the home. My mother taught me prayers as a very young child. My father set the example that church attendance was as much a part of our week as dinner every night or the Ed Sullivan show every Sunday night. I remember on one occasion that I was ‘too sick’ on Sunday morning to go to church. The truth was – I did not want to go to church. So I did stay home but I also spent the entire day in bed and had only chicken broth and white soda for meals. My parents were making a point: too sick to attend church – to sick for any other activity – including a decent meal! I did not make that mistake again until I went away to college and made my own choices and lived with them! My parents did not talk about their faith but faith was a part of their lives. I remember my mother going to ‘her chair’ and praying every night before she went to bed and other times when there were crises. The day her father died she sat in her chair for a long time that night, praying. My father had a closer walk with God near the end of his life. He was diagnosed with cancer and had always been such an active, in control kind of man. I sent him a Living Bible after his diagnosis. He never spoke of it but my mother told me he read it all the way through before he died. The Last time I spoke to him on the phone I said that I would “see you later, Dad, in heaven with Jesusâ€. He said, “OK, see you thenâ€.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God. He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love. By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.    1 John 4:7-12 (WEB)
Let us be open to opportunities that come our way to share our story with others. Let us listen to His Spirit as we tell others about the Father’s extravagant love for His children.
