Story Time

I feel like I've heard a lot about "stories" the last few days. Several times in the last week someone has made referrence to the significance of "story." Whether it be telling a story or possessing a story, people seem to be talking about stories. I thank my friend, Jenn, in large part for all of this...she seems to be captivated with Donald Miller's newest story, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" which tells the story of the making his life story into a movie.

I'm working on my homily for the Pinewood and Summerville Baccauleate services, and I can't seem to shake stories from my mind as I write this homily. In fact, my homily has become a story about part of my personal story. I'm talking about what it means to have an identity-who you are.

My story of faith began when I discovered that I was a child of God. My story began with discover of my true identity.

In John 1:12-13, we are told, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

God wants relationship. I get nervous saying what God wants, but claiming God desires relationship is one thing I am comfortable saying. God wants to know us, but more importantly, God wants to be known by us. The extent of that truth is powerfully expressed in Jesus Christ, the one in whom we are reconciled to God.

We have all been created by God, formed by His hand, and shaped by his Spirit. When we discover God, we discover our true identity. We discover that we are Children of God. Our identity is made real and our story really starts to be lived out. Our story becomes alive, because, united to God in Christ, we begin to live in God story, where true life can only be found.