Once Upon A Time...

I love stories. It's the primary way in which I communicate. It's how I view the world. I like to use that as an excuse as to why I love movies & TV so much. Lisa & I have books hidden, tucked and on display all through our house. I carry a book with me just about everywhere I go. When there are free moments throughout my day, I reach for it. There's a joke in my family that Lara can never tell a short story. It's true. I just feel that you need to know the back story to understand the 'now' story. Hard to follow isn't it? You should try being the one saying it :D

A young man visited our home group tonight. A few years ago, we supported him as he followed the Call to an especially difficult mission field. I can't tell you his name or where he went, but I can tell you that the Lord sent him there. He and his team witnessed the Hand of the Lord over and over. The coolest way that they shared the Gospel was through story telling. Story telling is a universal language. Most of us respond to it. In various cultures, their heritage is passed down from generation to generation through story telling. In a world that normally takes three + years to see lives changed by the gospel, this team saw eighteen people choose to follow Christ. And all through story telling.

Once these people heard the story of Jesus, they became passionate about it. They did so because the story tellers were (and are) passionate about it. Here, in the States, we have an abundance of stories. And so many of them are captivating. Which ones are you passionate about? The 'boldly go where no one has gone before...'; the 'don't go near the basement...'; the 'boy meets girl'? How many of them captivate you? What about the one where God came to earth just to die for you? Does it captivate you? Are you passionate about it? Why aren't we? Why do those others push it (the most important of all stories) to the back of our minds? When will we realize that the stories written in between those pieces of leather are the only ones that can truly change us? That those are the only eternal stories and all the others will fade?