Let Your Story Shine!

"Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.' Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain." —Philippians 2:14-16

Oh, dear. Chapel was mildly traumatic this morning.

The sermon was excellent. That wasn’t the problem.

No.

It was one of the sermon illustrations.

You see, I like the Newsboys’ music, and Shine is one my favorite of their songs. As soon as the chaplain mentioned he was going to use a Newsboys song to help us understand Philippians 2:14-16, I knew which song he was going to use.

I’m so proud of me!

But, though I enjoy the song and can sing along with the chorus, I’ve never really caught all the words to the first verse.

They talk about barbequing hamsters!

Did you know this?

I did not.

To be fair, they are singing illustrations of how dramatically lives are changed when Jesus enters into them. In this particular line, they say it’s like a vegetarian barbequing hamsters.

Blech!

And while I agree that this would indeed be a dramatic change, I have to argue that Jesus brings positive dramatic change. To be accurate, the vegetarian would have to barbeque a double bacon cheeseburger with a heaping serving of salty French fries on the side—not a hamster. (And any actual vegetarians reading this post may disagree with the cheeseburger statement, too. If you choose not to eat cow, I respect you. If you choose not to eat hamster, I thank you.)

I still like the song. I’ll still listen to the Newsboys. I’ll just make a face whenever they sing that line.

What were they thinking? (I’m guessing one of them had a traumatic hamster experience as a child. This was a subconscious form of revenge. Whoever he is needs therapy now.)

But that’s not why I’m posting today.

You see, also during this service, the chaplain invited a young teenager from our congregation up to share her family’s testimony. It was so inspiring! I’m thankful she chose to share; I know it took great courage. I was proud of her!

But I couldn’t help but think, here I’ve known this family for three plus years, and I never knew this wonderful story about them.

This is the third time in recent days that this has happened. Someone I know has gotten up to share her story, and it’s blown me away/blessed my socks off!

Not all of you may relate to this. Growing up, I attended one church for twenty years where everyone knew everyone else’s story. There were few surprises there. That may be your experience, too.

But since we’ve been in the military, I’ve been surrounded by people whose stories I don’t really know. When I get to know people, I get to know who they are now and what they are like now—and I know, all too well, that I often only know just a portion of that. I only know what they choose to reveal, so I could be sitting right next to a cancer survivor, a former homecoming queen, an orphan who was raised in foster care, or a vegetarian who’s developing a taste for barbequed hamster—and I might never learn these things.

Not that it’s always any of my business.

My point: everybody has a story. More accurately: everybody is a story in progress. When we meet, our stories intersect—for a time. If we’re saved, our stories need to show the love of Jesus for the world that others will see and want what we’ve got. And if those others already have what we’ve got, we need to learn that about them because their stories will blow us away and bless our socks right off. In other words, they'll encourage us.

Jesus shines when we invite Him into our life stories. He shines when we share our lives and His love. He shines through our actions, and He shines through our words, when, in His power, we care for the people who live all around us.

Jesus, help us to live as children of God without fault that we may shine like stars in the sky as we hold firmly to Your Word of Life. Help us to bless each other with our stories, whether shown by the way we live or told with words. May Your glory shine through us to the whole world! Use us to blow them away and bless their socks off because we love You! Amen.