Are You Sharing Your Story?

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the word “testimony.” If you’ve spent time in the church, chances are you’ve heard this word before. So what is a testimony? Basically, it is a fancy word for story—a specific story of when and how we became followers of Jesus. The time we decided to invite Him into our heart to be our Lord and Savior. For some, it may have been a single, life-changing moment. For others, it may have been a series of events over a period of time. And for many, like me, it has been a life-long journey of simply going to church, studying the Bible, prayer, and service.But our testimonies are much bigger than just a single moment or period of time. They are a collection of stories of how God loves us, how we love Him, and how we love others. Our testimony is more than our salvation story—it is how God is at work in our lives every day. The word testimony often feels very formal—like there is a specific and proper way to share it. But the truth is, no two testimonies are exactly the same, which means we all have a story to share! God has done something great for each of us, and it is our job to share this with the people around us. As we are learning in our study of Acts, the early church did not take a class on how to share their testimony—they simply shared from their hearts. They shared because they loved Jesus and wanted others to love Him too. Yes, we hear powerful teaching from Peter, Steven, and Paul, but there were many early Christians who are not mentioned by name who still made an impact by sharing their stories with the people they met. They didn’t need a large crowd in the temple to preach. They simply talked to the people (or person) around them.Do we take the time to share what God has done (and is still doing) for us? As parents, have we taken the time to share our stories with our kids? As a church family, have we taken the time to get to know another person’s story? I encourage each of us to take time this week to share our stories.“Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.” Psalm 96:2-3 NLT