"I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and transformingly present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believing response among the outsiders." v18
If anyone had reason to tell stories of his adventures, it would have been Paul. However, it is a bit refreshing to read his words and hear behind them a humility that deflects any personal accolades and puts the spotlight squarely on the work of Christ in the "outsiders." I've often wondered what it was that kept Paul so focused on his calling that he could endure all of the suffering for the sake of the Message, and I think I see a glimpse here.
When the story is always about us, the end approaches rather quickly. We get discouraged and we lose sight of the ultimate Hero. When the story is about Christ and his works and his deeds, then there is an endless supply of encouragement, hope and empowerment to do what he has called us to do.
I know this to be true, but I am still trying to find the secret to keeping the story about Him and not about me. I still struggle every day with making the main story my story. How about you, are you finding ways to win occasionally and find some of that encouragement and hope and empowerment?
It is intriguing, isn't it, to think in terms of being in a story? I love the turn of phrase that the hobbit, Samwise Gamgee, uses (from Tolkein's Lord of The Ring series): "I wonder what sort of tale we've fallen into?" It pre-supposes the question: What's my role in all this? Have you ever stopped to wonder about that? We each play a part in a much larger story that had its beginnings long before we ever arrived on the scene.
ReplyDeleteAs you so accurately stated Brad, it is about Christ, who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Yet we have a part just as Samwise had a part. And I believe we are each crucial to the story. Maybe not the Hero, or the main character, but we are crucial (chosen, in Him, before He even started the story Ephesians 1:4). I believe no one else can fill the role God wants us to fill. Samwise didn't carry the ring or throw it into Mt. Doom, but without him, Frodo wouldn't have made it. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gl3vuQLrKM&feature=related)
Deuteronomy 4:9
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Tell the story, over and over, so you don't forget. Teach them to your children. Teach them to your grandchildren (and to anyone who will listen). The story of Jesus. The story of your relationship with Jesus. Over and over and over again. While they may groan, "Dad/Mom, not again. We've heard that story." That's how you keep hope and love alive. That's how we are reminded of our role in the story and of Jesus' role in the story. Don't let it 'fade' away. Keep repeating it. They are good stories.