Go Tell My Story

When our daughter was little, every night at bedtime she wanted to hear a story.  Sometimes a silly, quick, made-up story would suffice, but most nights she would pick three books from her favorites to have read to her before she would fall asleep.  One of her all-time favorites was Willy Bear. 

Willy Bear seemed to find his way into the favored three-book pile almost every night. After a while, I would put Willy Bear at the bottom of the pile hoping she would fall asleep before I had to read it one more time.  I would try to skip pages, but nothing doing.  I would try to just leave out a word here and there, but I was caught and corrected every time.  She loved the story of Willy Bear and had memorized the entire book and there would be nothing left out.  Every page, and every word on every page, would be read.

Of course all good stories have the basic ingredients of theme, plot, structure, characters, and setting.  The greatest story every written, ever told, or ever heard is His Story.  It is the story of our redemption.  The theme of redeeming love runs from beginning to end.  The plot has moments of heart wrenching sadness and then literal death defying grandeur.  Instead of opening with, “Once upon a time,” His Story begins with, “In the beginning God” and never comes to “The End.” From the first pages we are drawn into this love story.  It is evident that the story is not just about a man and a woman, but about every man and every woman.  It is about God’s search for me. 

We watch as God creates mankind for communion.  The moment of conflict comes when the ones created to receive His love betray Him through disobedience.  But He is not willing to let them go and so the most amazing plan of all time is set into motion to redeem them.  It will not be quick and it will not be easy, but He will not be denied the love of His life.  It becomes obvious that if those He loves are to be redeemed, someone must pay the price with their life.  But who?  Who would be willing to give their life?  It is almost as if you can hear the horrified gasp of angels as the proclamation is made that God’s only son will go and be the willing sacrifice.  And so the Son leaves His Father, He leaves His kingdom; He leaves His authority, and goes to those who have been separated from this great love.  He is misunderstood, rejected, betrayed, and then the very ones He loves sentence Him to death.  He would go through extreme agony for love’s sake.  He would endure gross humiliation for love’s sake.  And then He would die for love’s sake, but His love would not be denied. He would rise from the dead and restore the way that had been severed through disobedience.  Once again the heartbeat of love could be heard.  This story was never meant to be heard by only a few; it is meant to be heard by everyone.

Mark 16:15  (KJV)  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

My paraphrase would be, “Go tell my love story.”  So how do we tell His Story?

What Makes a Good Story? by Chris King

“A good story is a story that you love and love to tell. Never, never, never, tell a story you don’t like, even if a client has requested it. As a storyteller, we are never on the outside looking in as we tell the story. We are a part of the story. We have internalized that story and we truly care about it. We can’t do that, if we don’t like the story.”

 I have to ask myself if my love for this great love story has grown cold.  I ask myself why my heart does not crave to hear it again and again?  Why do I not desire do read every page and every word on every page.  How can I skip whole chapters, leave out words with no remorse?  If my love for His Story has lost its fervor, then my telling of the story becomes boring, routine, and lackluster. 

I pray that my love for His story will be rekindled and telling His story will be my passion.  I pray that I will never tell His story as an outsider or as an onlooker but that the telling of His story will come from a heart that has been captured by His love.  I pray that this story be a part of the very fiber of who I am and that I will love God with all that is within me.  This Valentine’s Day there are many who crave for someone to love them.  Tell them His story from a heart that is ablaze.