What Stories Will You Tell in Your Final Days?
“Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful, and I will multiply your descendants. I will make you a multitude of nations. And I will give this land of Canaan to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’” ~ Genesis 48:3-4 NLT
At the end of his life Jacob repeated a story he’d told many times over the years. The story described an encounter he had with the living God who appeared to him and blessed him. God made promises to Jacob - the same ones he made to his father and grandfather, and now Jacob was conveying that story to one of his sons and two grandsons.
What stories do we tell our children (biological or spiritual) and grandchildren about our encounters with God, the way God appeared to us, the promises of God that sustained us, and the vision God gave us that spills over to encompass future generations?
My Uncle Joe told me his stories of how he encountered God early in his faith journey. As a baby Christian those stories fed my soul and made what I was experiencing with God solid and more real. His stories stoked my imagination as I wondered, “How might God appear to me? What may God say to me? What amazing adventures and discoveries will God take me on?”
Pay attention to your stories, write them down, tell them often, and plant the seeds of faith in those who follow.
Bringing my Bible to class with me in high school, and carrying it openly, is one of the stories I want to tell our grandchildren. I was entering 10th grade and honestly, I was terrified. “What are my friends going to think? What will they say? Am I the only Christian in this school?”
I am writing that story down and it will be included in a book of stories Sandi and I will give to your family in the coming years. (I have one book of stories already on my bookshelf.) What impact do I pray this story will have on future generations?
God will lead you into scary situations - but he will walk with you and give you the courage and strength to move through them into his blessing.
When you live out your faith with integrity God will draw other people to you who share your heart. (My closest friends in high school came through a Bible study that a few of us started that year.) But it will also be hard. (I lost all of my so-called friends within weeks.)
God’s word is not only a lamp to your feet and a light to your path, it is also a shield of protection as you place your trust in it, and the sword of the Spirit that makes forward progress possible.