My Story Matters.
My story matters.
Because my life matters.
Because my life is the story of Jesus at work.
It’s not about what I’ve done.
It’s about what He’s done in me.
Video Transcript
Your story matters because you matter. Because your life matters. Because Jesus created your life, and saved your life and redeemed your life on the cross. Your life is a testimony to the way that Jesus works and saves people.
Your story, therefore, is not all about you, but it's about what he that is Jesus has done in your life.
I know perhaps you've heard people talk about giving their testimony or sharing their story. I don't know if you've ever considered that yourself.
I know I had a season in college where I would hear people telling their story, their testimony, about some dramatic event in their life, of how they, you know, used to be an alcoholic or on drugs or addicted to pornography and how God changed their life and now they're living this new kind of life. I remember being captivated by these stories, but often then wondering about my own life. "Well, I don't have some dramatic conversion event. Therefore, my story must not matter all that much."
I remember talking to a professor at the Christian University that I went to who said, "No, you have a story and your story matters because Jesus loves you. And yeah, it's sure you grew up in a stable home where your parents loved you and your brother loved you and you grew up in the church. But that doesn't make your story unless valid. That's actually a lovely story. That's a wonderful story of God's blessing in your life."
And so I kind of came to grips with this reality, like, well, that's, that's my story and my story matters because I matter to Jesus, because Jesus has been at work in my life.
So my story is not about me, but it's about the way that Jesus works. And so I want to encourage you to think about your story, the way that Jesus has been active in your life.
Yeah, you can tell about the events that have happened in your life. Maybe you had some sort of dramatic conversion event, but maybe you've had a very stable life and always known Jesus every day of your life. Either way, that's your story .
Hopefully you know, though, what it is that Jesus does in your life and how he saves you from your sins and gives you the forgiveness of sins and eternal life and fills your life with hope and peace and joy and purpose.
And hopefully you've seen that and experienced it in very real ways that then you can also tell about. We want you to be people who have a story to tell them that you would know that your story matters.
Your story matters.
Your story matters because your life matters, because your life is a story of how Jesus works in people's lives. And your story is not just about you, but it's always about what Jesus has done in your life. So your life story ought to point to the cross of Jesus, his death and to his empty tomb, his resurrection, and that that's the central message of your life's story.
We want to be people who understand that our stories matter.
And then we want to be people who listen well to stories of others.
There are people in this world that will tell you their story or a piece of their story. They'll talk about life. These are the conversations you have all of the time. And so, as people are telling their stories, and it might not be a full life story, but a piece of the story, listen well.
Listen for the ways that people speak about what they're putting their trust in or what they're putting their hope in or what they're putting their faith in. Listen, and pay attention.
Are they telling stories about how they're stressed or anxious or frustrated or worried? Pay attention to those things, engage in conversation. And if it presents itself, we'll speak about, again, your story and what Jesus means to you and how in your life, the good news of Jesus has brought to you peace and hope and security and purpose and all those wonderful things.
Again, your story matters.
My story matters because our stories are the way that Jesus works in real ways in people's lives.