People say that our stories define us. As Christians, we know three important things about these stories. First, they are authored by God for His glory and our good; second, Jesus is at the center because it is in Him where we find our identity; and third, these stories – big and small – are designed to be shared. Unfortunately, this last point is where many get hung up.
Many people disqualify their testimony as a small or less powerful story and therefore believe it’s not worth sharing. They believe they need to be delivered from an addiction, dark past, or have a dramatic unveiling of moving from darkness to light. However, just because you came to Christ at a young age or just because the gospel story has always seemed to make sense to you does not mean your story is small or less powerful.
Your story goes beyond just the moment you trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior. It goes so much deeper than that, and you can count on your story to be useful and powerful because God is the author, and everything He authors has a use for His kingdom.
Let me explain.
The moment is powerful but, your testimony does not end there
I am going to tell you a story that you might be able to relate to. Maybe you don’t and that is okay.
In 2008, an eight-year-old girl trusted Christ. This girl grew up in a Christian household, had a mother whose faith inspired her and a father who taught her the gospel. Because of the foundation built from her family and community, she knew at a young age that Jesus died for her.
For the longest time, when people asked her, “what is your testimony?” she would answer, “Well, when I was eight, I got saved. I knew the truths of the gospel and decided I could not live a life without God at the center knowing this truth.” It was simple.
And although this is true, and although the truths of the gospel are more powerful than anything, she felt as though her story was not. Why?
When she was at church camp in high school, the other girl’s testimonies seemed more intense than hers. When she left to college, the testimonies others had were delivered from a past she could not imagine. Others did not grow up in a Christian household, they had lost someone significant in their life, they had been addicted to a substance, came from unhealthy relationships, and so many more things until they came to Christ.
She began to question her faith. “What if I did not really get saved when I was eight? I do not have a radical testimony…” Allow me to let you in on a secret, that girl was me. After time of prayer, confusion, and questioning, God revealed something to me.
A testimony is about what God has done, is doing, and will do. Your testimony is about the moment you came to Christ, and the truths in that are so powerful because through His forgiveness you can now live an eternal life with God. But, it is also about the moments of revelation that come after you have become a believer. The times God is working, molding, and moving in a particular season.
Those are ongoing testimonies of God’s continual work in your life, and they need to be shared! The beautiful thing about this, is that no matter how you came to Christ, this is true.
God is an artist, and you are His sculpture
An artist’s job is to develop a story, mold the story, then share it through the artwork. An artist’s work is never finished. Even after they have put it on display, an artist can always find something to refine or correct. An artist will even allow the piece that needs to be refined and corrected to tell an unfinished story.
God is our artist, and we are His sculptures. He is constantly refining us, molding us, and telling His story through us. God begins refining us when we have made the decision to come to Christ. Once we have, His hands do not stop working. A new piece is always being added to His work and that piece is meant to add to the story He is trying to tell through us.
Consider this:
Think back to a time in your life after you came to Christ that felt like a challenge. How difficult was that challenge. What did it feel like? How did Christ help you overcome it? What truth or characteristic of Christ was revealed to you? Was God loving, a provider, a sense of peace? Did you learn a lesson of patience or control?
Whatever occurred, there is a story to be told. A story that God molded, shaped, and curated for you to share. This is a part of your testimony. You are testifying to God’s unchanging faithfulness and ongoing work – you are highlighting an attribute of God that He has proven to be true.
You may not have been delivered from a shaded past, but you have been delivered to the light and are a walking representation of the light God is revealing to you in a season or every day. This is powerful. It is powerful because of the moment you came to Christ and because God’s work continues beyond the moment.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Mathew 5:16
It is time to evangelize your molded story
When I learned this truth of my testimony, the way I related and evangelized changed.
The next time you are asked about your testimony, remember that God gives you a collection of stories, each with a purpose to share with others. Each story can relate to how the power of the gospel is alive, unchanging, and ongoing.
These stories are God’s tools for you. He equips each story uniquely to you so that you can share them with others. People have understood things through stories since the beginning of time. Use them as tools to help explain and demonstrate the truths of the gospel. Allow them to lead toward gospel conversations. Let the experiences, challenges, and revelations plant seeds into the lives of nonbelievers.
