The Story That Belongs to You

You have a story that uniquely belongs to you. Others may have stories similar to you, but none are exact duplicates. A few weeks ago, an evangelist from Texas named Ron Freeman came to Cedar Creek Baptist Church, a church near Hartsville, South Carolina. He was invited to come and preach a weeklong revival. There were many professions of faith and over 30 new believers were baptized.

During Ron Freeman's week at Cedar Creek, he took time to speak twice at Emmanuel Christian School, located in Hartsville, South Carolina. ECS is the largest ministry of Emmanuel Baptist Church where I am currently serving as interim pastor. The next two Sundays after the evangelist's visits to ECS, we baptized 13 people at Emmanuel.

Evangelist Ron Freeman's story is far from ordinary. He had nine stepfathers. During his childhood, he endured abused, beatings and hunger. He witnessed things from which children should be shielded. He shared his testimony during his week at Ceder Creek, but he hastened to say, "You do not want my testimony." He was right. Though elements of his testimony are unique and stirs thoughts and emotions, no child should be subjected to the atrocities of his life.

The good news of Ron Freeman's testimony is that a friend invited him to church when he was a teenager. He was gloriously and wonderfully saved. Like every other believer in Christ, he became a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Old things passed away and he entered the wonderful world of a child of God. (John 1:12) God has used Ron Freeman and his testimony to bring many to faith in Christ.

There is a real danger in meeting and hearing the testimony of people such as Ron Freeman. We can think because our stories are not like his story, we don't have a story or a testimony. We do! All of us have a story and we have a testimony if we have received Jesus Christ as our Savior.

Ron Freeman could have rejected Christ as his Savior and allowed his story to produce a life of sinful rebellion. He could have allowed all the pain and abuse of his childhood to be expressed through a life of excess and immorality. He could have sought to inflicted pain on others and insisted that he was justified in doing so. After all, no one else had a story like his. He could have pitied himself and sought to drown his sorrows in alcohol and drugs. Only through the grace of God and the saving power of Jesus did he avoid that path.

Having heard Ron Freeman preach a couple of times, I believe that he is well aware that while everyone does not have his story, they have their own. They need the amazing grace of God and saving power of Jesus just as much as he did. I also believe that in his ministry as an evangelist, he is ready to listen to the stories of others and point them to Jesus. God has used him mightily to lead many to Christ.

All of us need to respect the stories of others and be ready to listen, to enter into their stories and point them to Jesus. We can find consolation and support in listening to each other and being ready to bear each other's burdens. We can become so focused on our own stories that we have no space or time for the stories of others. We can be so consumed by our own pain that we are blind to the pain of others.

Jesus knows our stories. He understands in a way that one else does or can. In John 4 Jesus encountered a Samarian woman at a well. He shocked the woman by asking her for a drink of water. In the subsequent conversation, the woman discovered that Jesus knew her story. He knew about her five husbands and that she was currently with a man who was not her husband. Yet, as Christ always does, He loved her. In Christ, she found compassion and an opportunity for redemption. Whatever your story may be, Jesus already knows it. He wants to enter into your story and do His marvelous work of redemption.

The greatest story that has ever been told is the story of Jesus. A movie depicting the life of Jesus and especially the cross and resurrection was made in 1965 and titled "The Greatest Story Ever Told." The story of Jesus gives us ultimate hope and certain victory.

Your story belongs to you. But don't keep it to yourself. Let God use your story. Let others enter into your story and be ready to enter into the stories of others. Through Jesus we can experience redemption.