Making His-story

If you went to any Christian group meeting today, whether attendance was 3 or 300 and someone said to you, “Hey, why don’t you share with us what God is doing in your life today? What’s He showing you, teaching you?” . . . Would you feel like a “deer in the headlights?” Think “oh, snap, I can’t believe he just asked that?” Or would it be an “Awesome. Grateful for the opportunity” opening for you to share?

Some men might interpret a moment like this to tell how you came to know Christ, meaning your salvation testimony. Some would see this as a personality choice. “Yeah, the talkers, the outgoing guys can’t wait for these moments, but me, I’m a quiet, stay out of the spotlight guy. Ask someone else. Maybe next time.”

Here’s the point—keeping a current testimony and being willing to share it is a reflection, not of you and your personality, or even level of humility, but of Christ and His activity in your life. It’s a matter of History—that is His-story—that we tell, not our own. It’s not “I,” but Christ. Our testimony is no longer about us, in talking about ourselves and how spiritual we are, but of God and how amazing and merciful and faithful He is.

Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope. —1 Peter 3:15 CEV

A church leader must be a good man. . . . He must be willing to learn and able to teach the Word of God. —excerpt of 1 Timothy 3:2 NLV

The one constant phrase in 1 Timothy 3:2 that changes little from translation to translation is “able to teach.”

In my own study on church leadership passages, particularly in the area of “lay leaders,” I emphasize that a man who fits the Scriptural description of a leader is going to have credibility and a reputation of a man with a current testimony. We have to remember there were no church staffs back then to interpret this through. It was simply about men who stepped up to lead in the very first churches. A man, that when he stands to speak or teach will not speak of a glory day 5 or 10 or 15 years ago, but what God is doing in Him now.

Today, be ready to give an answer about your Hope, but also be encouraged that God is ready to do a work in you that makes your story into His-story. And, in Heaven, that’s going to be the only story.