The Stories We Tell

For some time now I’ve considered writing out various strands of my personal story. In Christian-speak, we often call this a testimony. Christians often learn to tell their testimony of faith by conveying their sinful condition before trusting Christ, describing his or her conversion to following Jesus, and (only sometimes) articulating the life change that she or he has experienced after this spiritual transformation. This is a fine rubric for many. Yet quite often there can be drawbacks to this formula, in practice. At least in my white American evangelical experience, the way we tell our stories can present a few particular weaknesses.

First, often more time is spent detailing dramatic pre-Christ exploits than in presenting the person of Jesus and what it has looked like to follow him in faith since that time. Telling such a backstory is presumably to emphasize the power of Jesus to bring incredible change and yet often more focus is given to life before than after.

Second, there can be a type of pressure to present a dramatic “moment” of conversion. Certainly following Christ is the most remarkable transition in the life of any Christian! The Bible uses vivid language in describing the spiritual realities of this change moving from death to life, from darkness to light, from alienation and hostility to loving adoption and shalom. Yet in the stories we tell, it can appear that one needs to muster up some particularly dynamic life circumstances around meeting Jesus in order for it to seem significant.

Third, when we give such emphasis to the “before,” a typical testimony can often climax at the conversion. Though meeting and trusting Jesus is surely a significant turning point, we can implicitly communicate that becoming a Christian is the end of the story, rather than the new beginning. Imagine if on our biological birthdays we didn’t reflect on the lives we’ve lived since emerging into the world, but stopped simply at the clipping of the umbilical cord?

Finally, when Before-Conversion-After is the blueprint, it can imply that the most normal or necessary stories are of those who begin to trust Christ later in life. This is no shade to those with these types of stories. I praise God for my sisters and brothers who have experienced spiritual transformation in adulthood! Yet research shows that 50-65% of American Christians profess faith before the age of 14. If a person becomes a Christian as a young child, they likely cannot include significant details from a previous life of sin before meeting Jesus. Indeed, many cannot even recall a specific moment of conversion.

How do we tell these stories? Are young Christians any less Christian? Is God’s grace any less magnificent in the lives of those who meet him early, for lack of an extensive, outwardly rebellious backstory?

I first started following Jesus at four years old. For many years, I thought this meant I didn’t have a compelling story to tell. I would often couch how young I actually was because I feared that people would think it wasn’t real or that it would mean others couldn’t relate to me. As a teenager I often wondered if I needed to “walk away” and pursue a season of rebellion in order to finally have the dramatic experience that could show how great God is. The problem was, I didn’t want to rebel! It’s only been in adulthood that I could finally appreciate that that in itself was evidence of his great and amazing grace. The longer I have lived and ministered as a Christian, I have come to understand a few things.

A long and consistent life of faithfulness is an astounding testimony to God’s lavish grace. Dramatic stories are great. But God doesn’t need us to create hype to give him glory. Any instance of his extraordinary intersecting and redirecting our ordinary is a powerful story worth telling.

It is not a substantial experience of sinful rebellion that shows us our need for a Savior. No matter when we come to faith, we learn more of the depth and breadth of our sin the longer we sit at the foot of the Cross.

All Christians need to tell more stories from the “after.” Our testimonies will grow and expand throughout our lifetimes. We glorify God by not telling one static tale.

My story is not mine alone. Our stories belong to our families, to our friends, to our communities, to the Church. We need each other and that involves celebrating the miracle of God’s saving grace in all its forms.

So I’m setting out to record my stories of after. There are so many strands of grace, that they deserve differentiated, focused space to recount. In honor of my spiritual birthday, I begin at my beginning. To God be the glory!