We all love to hear a good story. Stories inspire, excite, teach, correct, and help us to dream. Stories share truths from generation to generation. Truly, they help us remember the past and build toward a better future. Yet, among the countless stories told and the structures that frame our favorite tales, there is one unique story to each one reading—the story of how God brought you into His family… Your testimony.
Over the years of speaking with Christians about sharing the Good News, I’ve noticed that many people believe that their testimony isn’t worth sharing. Often, they feel that it isn’t “exciting” enough because they didn’t have a life of criminal behavior from which they turned.
Who is the hero of your story?
Many years ago, I attended a conference where the speaker shared his conversion testimony. He explained how he had been a “liar, a thief, and a bully.” Amazingly, he had robbed his friends and beat them up. Then, with excessively emotive language, he spoke of how God had rescued him from his life of debauchery and turned him to the righteous way. Many in the room were inspired and moved. However, as the speaker continued, he revealed that his conversion came at the tender age of six years old. He had stolen a toy from his friend, pushed him down, and then lied about the event. He felt the need to embellish the story to make it more “powerful.” What a heartbreaking realization! This man was missing his testimony’s power. Why? Because he thought his testimony was about him.
As we consider what God has done in each of our lives, we must put the emphasis where it truly belongs. God is the hero of our story. Above all, He is the victorious Savior who pulled us from complete hopelessness into the power of His Spirit. Certainly, God doesn’t need our help to come out looking good in our testimony. When we focus on the external, we lose sight of the true power of the testimony. We were, each of us, completely lost in our trespasses and sins…but God. God saved us. The power of our testimony is in God’s victory, not our own.
Share your story!
So, I hope this serves as an encouragement to share what God has done to bring you into His family. Regardless, whether we come from a dark past, or if we were, by God’s grace, spared from potentially harmful behavior, we share our testimony to illustrate the greatness of God and the compassion that He displayed in rescuing us.
Remember, as we share the story of how God rescued us, let us also consider the work that God is doing among the Nations. As we all know, God is working in many ways throughout the world. Bright Hope strives to share stories of God’s victories among the extreme poor. TO do this, we partner with Allies who seek to participate in this work. As believers, we’re called to share what God is doing in our lives. Above all, we should point to Him as the powerful one. To this end, Bright Hope is honored to take part in sharing God’s ever-expanding narrative of redemption. In conclusion, we invite you to join us and make much of God’s redeeming story.
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