That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life -- the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us -- that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. -- 1 John 1-4
Our stories are individual. They are unique. They are OURS. But they are not isolated (even though we, at times, may feel we are).
Each of our stories is interwoven into those of others. Ultimately we notice a common thread running throughout the tapestry. This thread ties our stories into THE story - into His story (HIStory).
The Apostle John, in both his gospel and epistle, begins with, well... the beginning. He begins with a story that predates dates. It is the eternal story; the story of The Word. This forever-living Word is a person - in the personal sense; though for a short time in the flesh-and-blood sense also.
There is deep theology in John's words about The Word (especially in John 1). But for now I will (try to) skip the theology. What has been whispering in my soul is this motif of story. And more to the point, the interweaving of our stories into this Word of Life made manifest story.
I began this post (which grew into posts) after watching several I AM SECOND stories. Even at 30,000 feet breathing stale air, eating my three peanut allotment and elbow fighting with my neighbor over the armrest, I felt a connection. Though each story was unique, in a sense their stories were my story (and yours).
They were stories of broken people meeting The Word of Life. Theirs were narratives being interwoven into the grand God story - and in a way, into mine (and mine into theirs, though we've never met).
They were stories about seeing, hearing, looking upon, and touching The Word of Life. They were stories of impact. They were stories of the change that occurs when we realize His thread running through our lives - when we wake up and become aware of the work of the Great Weaver.
(Well, I realize part 3 isn't going to get it done. I'm nowhere near finishing my thought, but I'm out of time... off to church and then the gym. I'll leave it here for now.)
God, write my story...
For now...
D
