Not just any old story...

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 2:16-17

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.

Psalm 119:105

I learned these verses, along with many others, as a child in First Baptist Church Kilbourne, LA.  They still regularly speak to my heart, reminding that God’s Word is irreplaceable in my life for helping me to lead a life that is pleasing to Him.

As we craft Bible stories with Congolese believers, I am reminded of the absolute truth of these verses.  Jay and I find that as we work with our Congolese friends to prepare oral Bible stories in ways that are faithful to the Word and interesting to listen to, we will meditate on the story for at least 3 or 4 hours.  We listen to the story in multiple languages multiple times.  We talk about the following questions as they relate to the story:  1.  What do I like in this story?  2.  What do I not like in this story or what troubles me in this story?  3.  What does this story teach me about God?  4.  What does it teach me about man?  5.  As a result of my interaction with this story today, what am I going to do or change in my life?  6.  What is the best way for me to remember this story? (There is only one correct answer to this question – that is to tell it to someone else.)  7.  To whom will I tell this story today?

After this meditation process, we act the story out and then each person in our group (our current group has 8 people including Jay and me) tells the story before the group.  We correct each other, and everyone tells the story in his/her own words – making sure to be faithful to the Word of God.  It is remarkable how this group meditation, this crafting process will teach and correct us, will rebuke us, will penetrate and judge the thoughts and attitudes of our heart, will light our way. These aren’t just any stories.   They are truly living and active; they are sharp.  We sense that they are definitely inspired by the God we love and serve.   

The other day, we crafted the story of Lazarus and the rich man found in Luke 16:19-31.  A couple of days afterwards, Jay was walking through the house and he said to me, “Man, that Lazarus story is costing me a lot of money.  I can’t get it out of my mind and God is using it to convict me when I see those in need around me.”  Without regular interaction with the double-edged sword, it can be easy to just ignore those in need around us.  There are so many of them.  We can’t help them all.  Our list of excuses is long.  But when we meditate on that story, we find that we are troubled, we are convicted.  We are given a light for our path. 

It’s not just any old story...