Stories

Recently I picked up the latest book by one of my favorite authors entitled "Jesus Wants to Save Christians" by Rob Bell. I am currently only through the first chapter but have already been challenged with some tough questions that have caused me to reevaluate whether or not the way I live my life is truly reflective of the character of God.

The scene in which chapter one takes place is during the exodus of the Israelites from their bondage and slavery in Egypt. The Israelites found themselves in a desperate situation and cried out to God for help. God hearing their cry went in and rescued them from the inhumanity of their situation. But more than rescuing them, he gives them a land of their own and establishes a nation for them. The problem comes when the Israelites forget the story of their rescue from slavery and begin to focus on the preservation of their own kingdom instead of God's kingdom. "Their humanity is directly connected to their ability to remember their liberation, which was a gift from God. If they forget God - the one, true God who freed them - they are at the very same moment forgetting their story. If they forget their story, they might forget what it was like to be slaves, and they might find themselves back in a new slavery."

The Israelites had begun doing the same gathering of weapons, wealth, and land as Egypt, to the point of taking slaves of their own to build their own fortresses and temples. Now, "God doesn't have a problem with eating & drinking & owning things. It's when these things come at the expense of others having their basic needs met," that God has a problem with. So what did God do? He eiled them.

The thing is, as Christians it is our responsibility to reflect the character of God to the rest of the world. God's reputation depends on us and how we "carry" His name. Because "exile isn't just about location; exile is about the state of your soul." "Exile is when you forget your story,...when you fail to convert your blessings into blessings for others,...[it's] when you find yourself a stranger to the purposes of God."

I have a story, and I've been blessed, but I'm also currently in exile. I lost sight of my story because I was caught up in the wealth of joy and attention that my story brought, and I horded it and relished in it until all the joy had been rung out of my story. It was then that I realized that joy, no matter how large or how small, is fleeting if it isn't shared with others, and I was left unsatisfied. But now that I recognize that I am finding my way out of exile and home to God.

So what's your story? Do you remember it or have you forgotten? Do you even have one or are you still in slavery? Maybe you do have a story; are you in exile, having used the blessings of your story for the self-preservation of your own "kingdom," or are you using your story and its blessings to bless others?

I dare you.

If you have a story, I dare you to remember it, remember what it was like before you knew God and what it was like after. I dare you to take a long hard look at how you have "carried" Christ's name lately and whether you have truly and accurately reflected the character of God.

If you don't have a story, if you're not yet a follower of Christ, I dare you to take a long hard look at your life and ask yourself if you have found true joy and happiness, or are you a slave to a fleeting joy on the monkey bars of life, trying to reach out and grab on to that next rung of momentary security before your fingers let go and you fall to the ground.

Finally, I dare you to tell your story. Write it down, tell a friend, tell a family member, or even tell it here, but tell it. Christian or not, tell your story. What is your life about? What does you life reflect? What purpose does you life serve? And what are you doing about it?

God Bless