"We all have a story to tell." "YOU have a story to tell." If you've been keeping up with our most recent sermon series, you've probably heard something akin to that sentiment expressed several times in the past few weeks. I believe it's absolutely true. God created us as storytelling beings. He relates His identity and intentions toward us through story. He invites us to live in the story He has created. He sends His Son into the story of this world to transform it and restore things that are sad and broken about the story. The best stories are ones with happy endings, and we celebrate occasions like Easter for that exact reason. Death doesn't have the final say. Jesus is alive! We have hope! A story that has that kind of ending is worth living.
If I asked you to think about the most impactful moments in your life, I'm guessing you would probably tell me a story that has a certain amount of nuance to it. Insights that have been gained over countless retellings. Moments when your life was transformed. Struggles that gave way to seasons of rapid growth. Whether the circumstances surrounding the story were delightful or gut-wrenchingly horrible, they all contribute to the person that you are today. Do you remember these moments and tell that story because God was at work, and you feel deeply that you can contribute to the growth of the Kingdom by telling it? This has certainly been my experience, and I'm guessing it might likely be yours as well.
While telling your story is important, every story also needs a hearer. Now, you've probably heard plenty of boring stories in your time. Maybe there are some stories that you have NOT heard simply because they were too boring to be focused upon, and you found yourself tuning out. This is much like the impression I get when my wife tells me, "I told you that a few days ago," and I have no recollection of what she's talking about. Then again, if there is someone important that you are meeting for the first time, or someone who has the potential to be important in your story going forward, they may tell the most mundane, boring story you've ever heard, and yet you will give them your rapt attention. People are fascinating, and so are their stories, when you allow for the time and relational space to give them a fair hearing.
It's clear to me that when Jesus told stories, people listened. I like to imagine Jesus sitting down, whether on a mountain or on a plain, and waiting for people to lean in and listen. I'd like to think they hung on His every word. Maybe they did. But maybe they were distracted. Maybe they weren't convinced yet that He was worthy of their attention. Maybe they were surprised by what they heard, or maybe they were able to tune it out. One way or another, some people were really listening carefully to what Jesus shared, the stories He told, the teachings He set before them, because they recorded His story. And now, centuries later, we still tell the stories because of God's faithful work in their lives, His leading to write the story with pen and paper, transmitting it throughout the ages.
Some of the most delightful conversations I've had recently have come out of subtle details people have dropped gently into a more public, open conversation. A thrill of excitement. A touch of pain or angst. Wistfulness about unaccomplished tasks or a celebration of a personal victory. A tiny part of the story was shared more publicly, but I've found that if I go back to the person privately later on, and say something like, "I heard you say…," there's usually SO much more to the story. Asking someone to share a part of their story, especially something that is personal and deeply felt can be a beautiful gift. That gift of attention and care was a life-changing blessing Jesus gave generously throughout His ministry.
Nicodemus pursued the story of Jesus even when it was not necessarily clear that it was in his best interest to do so. John 3 tells us that he came to Jesus by night, when prying eyes wouldn't be around to out him as a secret follower of this rebel rabbi from Nazareth. He opens up to Jesus and expresses his own wrestling with the regeneration and restoration Jesus is bringing to the world and to their shared culture. He doesn't have it all figured out when they part, but his gift and contribution to the story of the world is a conversation that includes the most concise, powerful expression of the gospel ever recorded and the most well-known Bible reference in the world: "For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, CSB). Apparently, the story of Jesus was so compelling that even after He was crucified, Nicodemus and his friend Joseph of Arimathea were willing to risk their reputations and even defile themselves during the Passover to bury the body of Jesus. Did they have the hope of the resurrection beating in their hearts? Scripture doesn't explicitly tell us, but I think their actions powerfully communicate a living hope in Jesus.
What about you? Do you have the same kind of hope? You have never met the risen Jesus in the flesh, and neither have I. We have the benefit of knowing the rest of the story, a benefit Nicodemus did not have, even though he had met Jesus face-to-face. We all operate on faith. We trust that Jesus died for us. We trust that Jesus was raised for us. We trust Jesus' promise to return and put all things right. This is the heartbeat of our story, the motivation that continues to move us forward. As we settle into the high holy days of Holy Week and Easter, my prayer for you is that the story of Jesus would continue to loom large in your imagination. I pray that His passion and deep love for you would motivate you to trust him in every area of your life. And I pray that you would both live a story worth telling, and find those who have the ears and hearts ready to hear how your story has been transformed by nail scarred hands and an empty grave. I'm confident that when you tell your story, you'll recognize personally the beauty and joy of the statement…
Adventure is out there!
Pastor Aaron