Tell Me the Stories..."

I was fortunate to have been raised in a Christian home, and attended Sunday school and church regularly. I even sang in the “Cherub” Choir! One of the songs I recall learning was “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.” As I grew older and learned more about the stories in the Bible, the more fascinated I became about how God works in the lives of people and how their lives were transformed by faith in God.

Today when I lead workshops with church pastors, I will often ask, “With what biblical story, or character do you most identify?” The answers are as varied as is the uniqueness of each participant.

Karen Massey suggests that we read stories (told through biographies/autobiographies, and the Bible) not only for the information we can glean from them, but also what we can learn about ourselves. Many of the stories, she suggests, teach us about ourselves and are both an indictment and a challenge. The stories of Jesus certainly do that. They reveal a lifestyle of how to live in obedience to God’s will and challenge us to application in our lives. God works in wonderful ways through God’s stories when we apply the concepts to our life situation, then continue to tell the stories so that others might hear and come to know of God’s transforming power.