There are a ton of books out there talking about how to share the story of our faith. A common word is “witness.”
Scholars, preachers, and speakers, all talk about this subject. A lot of thinkers say that the decline of our Churches resides in the inability of our Church people to witness their faith.
The primary purpose of this article is to help us understand the fundamentals of how to share the story.
Before, you read the rest of the article, I strongly recommend that you review the following reflections:
Sharing the story is a result of your understanding that you are God’s servant, a Christian leader, and a person who cares for others.
Read this Scripture:
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:1-8.
There are two things that can come out of the above text.
You will receive Power
This text described what took place on Jesus’ fortieth day following his resurrection (see verse 2). He is with the disciples before ascending into heaven.
Jesus wants them not to leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift God, the Father, has promised. He was referring to the Holy Spirit.
To Jesus, what mattered wasn’t just receiving the Holy Spirit, but the power that the Holy Spirit activates in us.
What Jesus has told the disciples will take place just a few days later. This day is what we know of as the Day of Pentecost (read Acts 2).
Here’s what this means:
- God dwells in you.
- God walks and talks with you.
- God uses you according to God’s plan.
God’s story becomes your story
Take a look at my previous reflection, Called to Care. There, you discover that Jesus is at the same time the Groom, the Master, and the King (based on the stories from Matthew 25).
In addition, and according to John 15, Jesus is the Vine. I talked about that in the article, Called to Lead.
God’s story is that God, one day, decided to come to us, and go through the human experience: birth, growth, and death.
He did it through Jesus Christ who would raise from the dead to show that God is the only One who can give life or take it away.
God’s story becomes ours when we first choose to believe it. And, when we do so, God gives us the power to become His children (John 1:12).
Next, we have to establish and maintain our relationship with Christ. Doing so, God abides in us, and we in Him (John 15).
Lastly, God rules over us. In other words, God’s story takes over our individual lives ’ narratives and stories.
Your story becomes God’s story
When God’s story becomes your story, Jesus gives you a clean slate in life. But, for that to take place, and part of the process to make God’s story yours, is to choose to believe in Christ (God’s story).
Then, you’ve got to establish and maintain an intimate relationship with Christ. This intimate relationship with Jesus, as your Groom, King, and Master, will allow you to stay connected to the Vine (that is Jesus too, based on John 15).
When you stay connected to the Vine, what circulates through the branches is only what comes from the Vine. The only thing the branches do are 1) to receive what comes out of the Vine, and 2) to bear much fruit.
You and I are branches from other trees. By choosing to believe in Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, God has grafted us into the Vine (Romans 11:17,18).
Bringing it together
Sharing our story begins with believing and making God’s story be ours. In other words, we let God rule over us, and, as a result, what people see in us is only God’s story. How we conduct ourselves, therefore, is only the way to tell the story, God’s story that has changed our lives and made us children of God.
