Some folks are talented musicians, not merely playing notes on a page, but making those notes sing. Some can take a raw piece of wood and carve it into a masterpiece. Others can grasp a palate of paint and some brushes, reach deeply within themselves, and create art. Personally, I have always enjoyed storytelling. I revel in having a group of young ones sitting at my feet, transporting them to worlds far away through the window of a well-written tale, especially those true and life-changing stories found in the Bible. Those “ensamples” were given to us through a wide array of writers, directly inspired by the Holy Spirit, and those stories need to be shared.
One of my favorite Bible accounts is found in Luke, chapter eight. Jesus had recently spoken to His disciples about candlesticks, and the fact that they weren’t much good to anyone if they were hidden away where no one would benefit from their illumination. But soon after that light-sharing exhortation, Jesus sets off on an important mission, telling His disciples that He must “go over unto the other side of the lake.” Jesus and his disciples set sail, but a fierce storm arose and battered their ship, filling it with water, putting all the lives aboard in jeopardy. Jesus would not be deterred on His mission, calming the storm, rebuking the winds and the raging waters by the power of His voice, and completing His journey to the Gentile country of the Gadarenes.
The mission was laced with urgency for a nameless man (nameless to us, certainly not to the One seeking him) was in desperate need of the Master’s touch. This tormented man “ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.” The unclean spirits that controlled this man caused him to cut himself, to cry out day and night; he was void of hope, lost, and alone. Jesus met this man and commanded the spirits to depart from him, giving those evil demons leave to enter into a nearby herd of swine. I would have loved to have seen the spectacle of those pigs running madly over the cliff, while this once-crazed man was “sitting at the feet of Jesus,” freed from the bondage of Satan. Whoa, now THERE’s a story! It had to be an amazing scene to witness!
This unnamed man, in overflowing gratitude, desired to stay with Jesus, never to leave the company of the One Who set him free, but the Lord knew that this man had a powerful story to share. “Return to thy house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee.” Let your light shine, son; tell your story! Show others that the King of kings has changed the course of your life, and wrought salvation in your soul. Tell them what I did for you.
All of us who have met the Master have a story to tell, don’t we? Our story may not involve pigs running off of a cliff, but it is miraculous none the less. Let’s get busy with the task of sharing OUR story!
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Lord, I have a story to tell, a story of how You reached down from Your throne in glory and saved a wretch like me. I have seen wondrous miracles in my life directly from Your hand. Help me to be a willing witness for You.