We have all been through the fire in one sense or another. Life just throws some doosies at us sometimes. But lately I have had multiple discussions with unrelated people about real-life Christianity.
We all go to church or Bible study ironed and pressed, hair done, make-up on. We put on our smiles and learn to wave and chat. What we miss sometimes, though, is actual connection.
We have a bad day and we look around. It seems everyone else is having a great day. Unconsciously at times I think we even start to believe life is like that for them all the time. Almost like that “facebook front,” we see all of the cool things everyone else is doing and our life starts to look pretty boring.
Our Christian environment seems to function like this. We see the face, but never see the reality. How sad this is. Sharing our struggles and mess-ups is not about airing dirty laundry at all. Sharing our stories becomes a way for others to see what we have encountered and what God has done in us through the experience. We are who we are today because we have been through life and seen God at work.
But a challenge remains…when you have 10 or 200 people all gathering together, how do you create opportunities to share what God has done? Shaking hands for a couple of minutes or saying hello in the hallway seem to fall very short and yet having everyone stand and share their entire story during worship service does not seem to work either.
We have to share, otherwise the only one it changes is us – and maybe not even that if we do not recognize who brought us through. God has brought us all through the fire. We all have a story to tell.
Jesus ran into such a man in Luke 8. He met the man filled with demons who had been outcast. God freed him and then told him in verse 39, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” Jesus freed the man, but the miracle was not just for him. It was a chance to share Jesus and eventually salvation.
Our miracles are much the same. They are something God has done in our lives and an opportunity to share Jesus and salvation with many. The man followed Jesus command. In Luke 8:39 it says, “So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.”
Have you gone to share what Jesus has done for you? What is the story Jesus has written in your life?
Also, how do we make this more a part of our corporate worship? How do we connect in this way at church or Bible study? How has your church or Bible study accomplished this connection to real-life Christianity?
Praying we all do just what the man did – and tell everyone what Jesus has done for us.
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