Story Bearer - How to Share Your Faith With Your FriendsНамуна

God has a story

There’s a reason that the Bible is the bestselling book of all time. It really is the greatest story ever told. It has a hero, a thrilling narrative, a web of relationships and the plot is still unravelling. It is a comedy, a tragedy, an action movie and a love story. It has meaning because it is told by the Creator, the Author of all things. It has direction because it is told by the Way. It is true because it is told by the Truth. It is alive because it is told by the Life.

In today’s Luke reading, Jesus, the master storyteller, tells arguably the greatest short story ever recounted. So much of the essence of the gospel is encapsulated within it. The younger son rejects his home, his story, his community and his relationship with his father and sinks to the pit of depravity. In the pig sty, it would have been difficult for Jesus to paint a bleaker picture of how far the son has fallen. The astonishingly good news for us is that there is always a way back, no matter far we wander. Because when he comes to his senses, the father is waiting. His eyes probably never left the road. His undignified run, embrace, gifts and party demonstrate the welcome of God to every sinner who decides to come home.

This small story tells the big story of the Bible. Despite being created to be loved, at home with the father, our sin, selfishness and self-centredness separate us from God. We squander the life we could have. And yet God does not give up on us. If we come to our senses from our pig sty and decide to make the journey home, He is waiting for us with the most surprising and heartfelt welcome. We are embraced, our identity restored, called children of God and a party thrown to usher us back into community.

The whole Bible is about this story and it points to the saving life, death and resurrection of Jesus. That’s why he declares in John 5, ‘The Scriptures point to me.’ And yet we also see the danger of forgetting the story. In the Judges passage, we read that in a generation the people of Israel neither knew the Lord nor what he had done. This should inspire us to throw ourselves into regularly reading the word of God, talking about it, studying it and passing it on.

If a friend asked you, ‘What is Christianity all about?’ what would you say? Be encouraged to think about your response. Perhaps you would tell the story of the lost son, perhaps you would summarise it like this: 1. God loves us. 2. We have sinned and this separates us from God. 3. Jesus’ death and resurrection mean our relationship with God can be restored. 4. We need to choose to accept God’s invitation of friendship. Today, let’s think about how we would tell God’s story. The best news in the world is worth sharing, and sharing well.