A story is “a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it”. That’s the definition of a story as written by Donald Miller in the book “A million miles in a thousand years”.
What is the story of your life? We all want something, and we all face conflict. I spent some time thinking about “what I want” in my own life story and one thing I want is to love and be loved. To get what I want I am intentionally vulnerable thereby facing the “conflict” of risk of being hurt. You cannot have real love, real life, or a real good story unless you let your guard down and even allow the pain to shape you.
This isn’t referring to romantic love or to being loved by the masses such as a famous character; this is about a few deep personal relationships where there is meaning. In the relationships there are substories, there are adventures, there are sacrifices and selfless acts, and there is teamwork. We keep each other upright, we laugh without fear of embarrassment, we have old jokes and new memories, and there are traditions made and traditions broken. In these relationships we face pain, we fight for each other, we respect each other, we honor each other, and we are loyal almost to a fault. And when we wrong each other, we apologize and we forgive permanently and repeatedly. That’s what I think love is.
The author of Psalm 136 tells the story of God with gratitude for what he has done and for who he is. Each line ends by saying “for his steadfast love endures forever”. Notice that none of this points to a perfect life here on Earth. This Psalm exists to help us remember, for us to be grateful, and to give God the glory. I thought it would be fun to write my personal story in a similar fashion to Psalm 136 and I challenge you to do the same. Write to remember his love which endures, and that it endures forever.
God allowed me to be born into a loving family teaching me in the ways of Christ.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
I was blessed with an education.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
I have been blessed to have ample food, clothing, and shelter in my life.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
God blessed me with friends who love me.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
God allowed me to be relatively unharmed through the course of experiencing two separate vehicular rollover accidents.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
God answered my prayers by blessing me with a loving wife and loving children.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
Through my darkest hours, God gave me peace beyond understanding.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
He sent his son as a sacrifice for the millions of sins I’ve committed, and he forgave me.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
Through my failures, God has taught me.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
In times of joy, I’ve felt God celebrate with me.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
Through the Bible, God has revealed his will, his ways, his story, and his wisdom to me personally in a supernatural way.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
A story is a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it. Think about God as the character who wants a relationship with you and me. He overcame the greatest conflict known to mankind because of his love for us. That’s his story, that’s THE story. For his steadfast love endures forever.
Today’s reading: Ezekiel 13-15; Psalm 136; John 5