Telling Our Story

Lucy Holt

“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.
Luke 8:39

Recently I’ve met a number new people. I’ve also been to events which meant reconnecting with old friends after some time, when lots has happened in all our lives.

All of these have meant retelling chapters of my life, old and new, quite a few times. It’s been easier than I expected to talk about the ways my faith has guided me, and how prayer and reflecting on my beliefs has helped me through challenges.

I just finished reading ‘The happiness hypothesis’ by Jonathan Hyatt. This is not a faith book, it’s about psychology and was a gift from some wonderful friends. The author describes himself as a ‘Jewish atheist’ but describes how he has found a huge amount of wisdom in religious teaching, and also seen the benefits of faith in people’s lives.

One of the things he describes as being really good for people is describing our experiences as being part of a meaningful and coherent journey.

It struck me how much of the Bible is like this. It is the story of God’s interactions with humanity but it’s also people’s stories; told at the level of nations, families and individuals. The people of Israel lay down stones as they cross the river Jordan in Joshua chapter 4. They used these, as well as songs, festivals and food, to remember and reinforce their shared story.

In his letter to the Corinthians it is considered that Paul repeated an early creed:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.
1 Corinthians 15:3-5

These words were likely repeated from the very first Christians, soon after Jesus resurrection. They had chosen their words carefully and then repeated them often, to share their most important story.

This week maybe you will have chance to hear someone’s story, or to tell yours. Even just taking time to write your story down is healthy and helpful. Even if you are in the middle of a tricky chapter, I hope you can find what Jesus is doing in you.