Three Reasons We Don't Share Our Story

my-story

If you’ve spent more than five minutes in church, you’ve probably heard that Jesus is a big fan of us going into all the world to tell the good news. To make disciples. To be His rep to those around us. To “share our faith”.

Why is that so difficult to do?

Why does it seem so daunting to share Jesus with others?

I think there’s lots of reason, but here’s three that have probably been true for most of us:

  1. We don’t feel equipped. We tell ourselves, I don’t know the Bible well enough, I don’t know the Romans Road (?) or anything past John 3:16. How could I ever show someone what the Bible says about it all?
  2. We are afraid of what other people might think. There’s this nagging message working to convince us that people will think we’re completely crazy if we share our story. 
  3. We don’t believe our story is that special. We hear great and dramatic accounts of once I was lost and beyond all hope and Jesus saved me from the pit of hell. And my story starts with… I got saved when I was 8.

What if we believed our story mattered?

What if we valued ourselves enough to believe that what Jesus did in our lives was beautiful and powerful and amazing?

Jesus valued you so much that He gave every part of Himself to provide for your redemption story.

Your story absolutely matters.  

Maybe you can’t give a four point sermon about the whole thing with Old and New Testament references.  Chances are you may not be able to fully articulate the theology of it all. 

But you know what Jesus did for your soul. 

Today, take a moment to remember. Remember the depth and the intimacy of it all,  how Jesus took what was once lost, beaten down, missing…and how He filled it …with love…forgiveness…grace…and redemption. 

This song, Big Daddy Weave, My Story.  It’s exactly it. Take some time and listen, because ultimately, our story is beautiful because of Him. 

Your story matters. Share it.

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:13-20

3 Comments

  1. Dylan Self on November 12, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    If we focus on our stories to the detriment of the story of Christ’s, we will simply engage in a series of ruminations on par with other eschatological modes. Malcolm X had a great story about Elijah Mohammed appearing before him in his prison cell, but Elijah Mohammad was no Messiah. Mohammed and Joseph Smith had good stories as well.
    Certainly we can offer attempts to relate to what we’re speaking about, but it should be our goal to keep ourselves out of the story as much as possible so we can be sure that we preach nothing but Christ crucified

    • Julie Thomas on November 12, 2015 at 11:07 pm

      Agreed. It’s all about Jesus. Always.

  2. Linda on November 12, 2015 at 9:39 pm

    Hmmmmmmm. Great food for thought! (I think God is hitting me over the head with a sledgehammer!)

Leave a Comment





Resources: