What's your story?

What’s your story?

  Hopefully, he doesn’t read this or I’ll never hear the end of it. But Jane’s brother-in-law, Fred Froman, is a great storyteller. When it comes to jokes, not so much. Fred pastors Holt Baptist Church in Holt, Michigan. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been friends for over forty years. Like most preachers, every once in a while Fred will attempt to tell a joke in a sermon as an illustration. You know that you’ve probably laid an egg when you tell the joke, no one laughs so you have to follow it with, “Uhm, that was a joke,” That’s usually followed by nervous laughter from the crowd.

  Yet, what Fred lacks in joke telling, he overachieves in storytelling. Fred can have an entire room captivated as he tells what are affectionately known as “a Froman story.” He has a gift for making the mundane mesmerizing.

  Each New Year typically means making some new friends. It’s a fairly familiar conversation that all of us have had. In fact, when our children were young, we taught them how to have it so that they could engage others in a conversation.

  It nearly always begins with your name. Then, is often followed by…where do you live, where are you from, what do you do? Favorite sports teams will often be shared or where you went to high school or college? Perhaps even your dream vacation or favorite type of food.

  Many questions will be asked but one that’s rarely, if ever asked is: Where are you going? Yet, isn’t that the most important question of all. Every Christian, when it comes to that question, Where are you going? should be able to tell their story. The bottom line is that every Christian should know their story and while they’re all unique, at the same time – they are all the identical. So, what’s your story?

  The Apostle Peter talks about sharing our story as he wrote, “…Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Peter 3:15-16). Every Christian’s story includes certain key chapters.

  Chapter 1: My life before Christ. This can be a little more difficult if you grew up in a Christian home with parents who loved the Lord Jesus because there may be little difference. Yet, all of us had a period in our lives before we came to know Christ. No one is born a Christian. None of us are “good” people. We may be more moral than others, but it’s all relative. None of us are good compared to the perfect standard of a holy God. We’re certainly not “good,” because we go to church. That’s as silly as suggesting that you’re a doctor because you walked through a hospital. Though we attempt to fill what Blaise Pascal called that “God-shaped vacuum” in each of our hearts, only God through Jesus Christ can fill it.

  Chapter 2: My awareness that apart from Christ, I’m hopeless. If you’ve ever dealt with a cancer victim, you’ll find that the one thing that sustains them is hope. Without hope, they have nothing. Every one of us has a disease that’s called sin and it’s incurable. It carries with it, if we’re honest, deep guilt and shame. It’s true that some of us are “less” guilty than perhaps others. After all, most of us aren’t Charles Mansons, but the standard is God’s perfection.

  It’s a bit like attempting to jump off a pier in Racine all the way across Lake Michigan to the coast of Michigan. Someone who is athletically fit, will obviously jump further than someone who is middle-aged and out of shape. But no one can jump all the way across. God’s standard of perfection means that we must jump all the way across, so while some may jump a bit further, in the end, we all miserably fail and fall terribly short.

  Chapter 3: How I trusted Jesus to carry me across. Unless you have a pilot’s license, when you fly you’re totally dependent upon the pilot. You’re completely committed to him and his abilities. That’s similar to salvation. You know that your sin debt is too high. For you, it’s an impossible debt to pay. Because you know that you’re not perfect you know that can’t get yourself into Heaven. You’re totally dependent on someone else.

  Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The only way to be forgiven and go to Heaven is to trust Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. John 3:16 is the gospel and that truth summarized. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Salvation is a free gift that one must accept based on Jesus’ death on the cross. It cannot be purchased. After all, it is a gift.

  Chapter 4: My life after coming to Christ. When someone has trusted Christ as their personal Savior, there are revolutionary changes in their life. That’s what 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” If there are no changes, something is terribly wrong. There are changes in your character, attitude and perspective on life. Your motivation, what you live for and think is important should change. It’s not that you’re perfect.

  It’s a bit like marriage. In fact, the Christian life is compared to a marriage (Ephesians 5). Something is seriously wrong with a marriage if there are no changes. The Christian life is not external conformity. As Galatians 5:22-23 teaches a Christian will be known for spiritual fruit in their life (“the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”). 

  This coming year you will have multiple opportunities to share your story. Please be sure to share the most important part of your story, Where you are going and why? That’s a story worth telling again and again. 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Not the same old face....

“We don’t grow older, we grow riper.”  

Pablo Picasso

Probably the biggest problem with Facebook is you’re supposed to post pictures of your face…at least periodically. Recently, Jane and I had lunch with her sister, Susan, and husband, Fred Froman. We then posted a picture of the four of us on Facebook. Darlene Gomes, a mutual friend who’d been in both of our youth groups many years ago in Warren, Michigan wrote underneath, “How did you guys get so old when I’ve only aged a little?”

  She was teasing (I hope). Darlene is a few years younger than us, yet she makes a valid point. No one can slow down the aging process. While we can’t keep ourselves from growing old, we have complete control over how we will grow old and what kind of older person we will be. Even if you’re already “older,” it’s not too late to make some needed adjustments.

  Unfortunately, most of us in our twenties or thirties, rarely consider what kind of older person we want to be. We tend to age purposelessly, much like bread grows mold. Habits or attitudes acquired early on often become entrenched in our sundown years. Yet, there’s something wonderful and fulfilling about being someone who’s “grown old in Jesus.” I’ve had the privilege of knowing a few. By God’s grace, I want to be one...don’t you?  

  The first funeral I conducted was for a dear saint, Bess Norum. She was nearly 95 years young when Jesus called her Home. Bess was sweet, yet a bit of a firecracker. When she was younger, she’d sung in Billy Sunday’s choir during one of his revivals. Even at 94, she had a powerful Christlike influence on others. Her closest friends had essentially dropped out of church yet because of Bess’ encouragement, came back. Back then, our church didn’t have air conditioning. For a small church of 40 people, to put it in was a chunk of change. At the information meeting, Bess quipped we could make a lot of lemonade for what it was going to cost. Yet, she was one of the early givers who helped pay for the new air conditioning.

  If we’re not already there, each of us will reach that stage where there’s more of life’s road in the rearview mirror than in the windshield. While there’s no shortage of old men and women, yet if you list out those you want to be like, who you want to emulate, the list will be alarmingly short.

  This is true for a variety of reasons. Too many drift into self-centeredness. Life becomes about “ME.” I remember trying to feign interest on one occasion as a retired couple droned on and on about the wonders of their RV and all the gadgets it had. Life was about travelling for them and all the things THEY were going to do, but nary a word about what they might do for someone else, even their own grandchildren. Many succumb to impatience, which is ironic if you stop and think about it – what pressing matters do they have? Others become critical or petty. Some sour with bitterness. Most live in the past and no longer lean forward into the future.

  You’ll find that those who are examples of quality aging will not attract you because of their achievements or success, as we often define it. What makes for an attractive aged person has much more to do with character, attitude, the fruit of the Spirit and Christlikeness. By God’s grace, all of us can make our twilight years our highlight years. Scripture has many examples of older saints, many who are well worth emulating like Abraham, Caleb, Simeon or Anna. Can I though focus on two elderly Bible saints often overlooked that we can learn so much from?

  One is Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. Scripture gives us just a glimpse of this godly matriarch. I’d encourage you to take time to study her story for yourself in Luke 1. Elizabeth is well up in years but childless. Rather, than allowing that fate to embitter her, Elizabeth chose to be gracious, trusting the Lord. When she miraculously conceives yet learns her younger cousin, Mary, is expecting, though it means her son will play 2^nd fiddle to Mary’s Son, Elizabeth rejoices with her. She completely trusts and submits to God’s sovereign plan. She’s willing to go against the tide when it comes to naming her son. Her commitment is to pleasing the Lord even though it causes tongues to wag and say harsh things about her.

  I meet many older folk who’ve had hard lives. Some, every opportunity they have, let others know how unhappy they are. While others may not know the cause of the bitterness, they know this elderly person has more wrinkles on their soul than their face. They’re miserable to be around. Often they will bemoan, “None of my family or friends call me.” They fail to connect their dark outlook with others’ absence.

  The other one is Jacob. Here’s an individual who truly fits the words of famed Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, “The last days of the saints are sometimes their best days, and their last work is their best work.” Early in his life, Jacob had been a conniving, manipulative, deceitful and sour person. He was a success as far as this world is concerned, but true success came to him in the last two decades of his life.

  Jacob believed his son, Joseph, was dead. But when he learned Joseph was alive and went to Egypt to be taken care of by Joseph, it was then Jacob had a one man revival. He allowed the faith, forgiving spirit and graciousness of Joseph to influence him and re-direct the trajectory of his life. The man who’d lived most of his life in fear became a man of faith and vision. Prior to the Egypt years, Jacob’s children and grandchildren gave him a wide berth, but something happened. Jacob changed and grew a tender heart for God. He became a godly testimony to others. It’s why I love Jacob. His last years demonstrate there’s always hope. With Christ working in your life, anyone can change, no matter how old you are.

  Even if your life hasn’t turned out like you expected, ask yourself a vital question: What kind of old man or woman do I want to be? You can’t undo the past or always control your circumstances. You do have a choice about the life you’re going to live. Many of us have a gut-wrenching choice to make. We can put our lives on autopilot, drifting into becoming a grumpy geezer. Or, by God’s grace, we can do the hard work of reinventing ourselves, reworking the last chapters of life so we truly end “Happily Ever After with Jesus.” Do you need to write a new chapter? It’s never too late!

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