The Story of Our Lives

God is telling a story.
It begins before time itself
And it never ends.
It's about you
And it's about God.
The story is one of reconciliation
And new life.
Join God now in telling this story
With your life.

    Most mornings I begin my day with the online devotional, www.d365.org.  It follows an ancient and basic format and pattern known as “Lectio Divina,” which helps one to focus on the scripture of the day and allow the Spirit to connect that scripture with our daily living.  The statement above is the benediction for this week’s devotional, and as I have read it each day, I’ve found myself reflecting upon what it means for God to tell a story with our lives.
    One of the things my wife and I have been deliberate about with our children is that we read to them.  From the time they were infants we’ve read bedtime stories, and as they have aged, we’ve progressed to more and more complex books.  Chipping away, one chapter at a time, we’ve made it through all of the Narnia and Lemony Snickets series,  and we are now on the last Harry Potter book.
    In sharing that time, we allow our imaginations to form and develop, and that which is on the page comes to life inside of us.  That which another has transferred from thought to paper, is transferred to us and becomes a part of us.  It shapes and forms us, and in many ways, that which is word becomes a part of our lives and living.
    
    The longer I am a pastor, the more meaningful and relevant is the beginning of John’s Gospel.  Yes, I know I referenced it just a few blogs ago, but there is much to be said for “The Word becoming Flesh.”  Jesus, the Word, indeed became flesh and blood and came to the neighborhood, but the invitation and call for us is that we become that Word, that Body of Christ in the world...in OUR world...so that others might see and receive the joy God invites us to share.

    In light of that Word becoming flesh in and through us, think about the words of the devotional.  God is telling a story (and we are included).  It begins before time itself and it never ends (and we are a part of that story, characters in the great narrative of life).  It’s about you and it’s about God.  The story is one of reconciliation and new life (and that reconciliation and new life is not only for you but to be lived into – accepted and give – by you).  Join now in telling this story with your life (for the only way to truly live is to live the story of God).

What story is God telling through you?  How are you daily living as God’s story teller?