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10/02/2002 Entry: "Telling our stories"

I always enjoy hearing the stories of how people came to faith. I mention this only because I heard a friend's story for the first time today and I was moved by it. (But it's his story to tell not mine). Hearing this testimony, told with the minimum of elaboration in only a few minutes, made me think of some of the others I've heard over the years. Dramatic stories of sudden conversion, and mundane narratives of a gradually dawning faith.Some can define a precise moment when they "saw the light" and turned away from a life of sin, others give thanks to God for a lifetime spent with an awareness of his presence thanks to a faithful family witness. For some, conversion is linked to an ecstatic and irresistable experience of the Holy Spirit, for others the life of faith has been a matter of rational thought and decision. Others still find a measure of both. The life-changing grace of God is conveyed in the dignity of choral evensong and in the liveliness of a gospel choir. Faith is transmitted in fiery preaching and in gentle conversation. The ways of God are splendid in their variety, and God speaks to his world with many voices and in many languages. The message , though, is always the same: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son..."God loves. God gives.So my story may be very different to yours. How we have experienced God and how we speak of him could well be different too. But if we listen to one another and allow each other's stories to speak across the barriers we often place between us, I am certain we will find our life and faith enriched beyond our expectation. God be praised for his abundant gifts!