Tell the Story

In Ian Randall's article about early baptists in the UK he gives five points that characterised them, with point 5 being about telling the story. He explains how the gospel story and how the story of each believer aligned with it was a key focus of their shared life together as Christian disciples.

Ian calls for imaginative ways of telling the story, with which I thoroughly concur. Story-telling amongst other things seems to have universal power across cultures and ages - it is a tool we ignore at our peril. The Bible is full of story, in Old and New Testaments. God, it seems, chooses to reveal himself through the ongoing outworking of story.

As we seek to re-herald Gospel truths in today's culture it seems to me that we would do well to find, as Ian suggests, vivid ways of telling the story.

Let God be God

There are many peculiarities in the book of Job, much to ponder. But the one that has struck me is Job's final response to God's words to him. In other words, chapter 42 verses 1 to 6.

Thats my point! Just 6 verses of response! After all the pages and pages, different things said by Job, other people, and then by God - many of them being multi-chapter lectures - Job responds with just 6 verses. In fact one of those is telling us that it is Job's response, so in reality it is only 5.

And even those 5 don't really say much. Kind of 'okay God, you have indeed spoken. So now I repent. End of.'

Notice how quickly things can then move on after just those few words. All the arguments, the counter-arguments, the twisting and turning, is resolved and made good now Job effectively says 'Let God be God'. In fact he can immediately be involved in other people's restoration (see v8-9) as well as going on to receive his own.

How much can happen, how much progress be made, when we cut our words short and let God be God ...