Tell The Story

I wonder how many of us can actually tell the story of our redemption in the context of our own life (i.e. testimony - but without the churchy baggage of that word). It might be hard to tell the greatest story in the history of the world, and our participation in it, without sounding grandiose or braggadocious. Can we, in simple terms, express the event of our salvation in the same manner that we might tell any other good-news-story in our life? I think faith-talk is hard to do when we have erected so many barriers to it in our minds. I have an idea that one or all of these might be standing in our way of being open and talking about faith to the faithless. Are we bored with our story? (I grew up in the church, got baptized when I was 13, stuck with it for the most part. blah blah blah. Is that what you think your story is? I hope we are not that shallow.) Are we afraid to let people know we have sinned? (I don't know why so many people have a hard time living for Christ. I do pretty good! Really? Try the truth. Maybe something like ... sometimes I'm lazy, sometimes I lust, sometimes I say words that Christians shouldn't say, sometimes I am angry with people. That's more like it.) Are we afraid to let our sin go? (Oh yeah boy I really used to close the bars down ... man ... and the women... woo ... of course that was all before I became Christian. Do we wistfully remember with fondness our days in the darkness? Do we give the impression that we actually miss that life?) Are we afraid to embrace salvation? (I sin so much, how could God ever love me ... I'm a wretch...I'm terrible ... I'm sure God will barely save me. Do we need a little more confidence in the saving power of the blood of Christ?) In each of these mindsets we have set up a comfortable obstacle to teaching others about Christ. It's never the right time because we're never the right people. If we fully trusted in His grace, these barriers would be obliterated ... and thus some very nearly reject grace. We can be just like Adam and Eve, putting on our garments of hand-made fig leaves trying to hide our nakedness from an omniscient God. You have a story to tell. Maybe you ought to write it down, practice it, and then watch for opportunities to tell it. It doesn't have to be long, or religious-sounding, or miraculous, just real.