The Story

Here's a little something God's taught me this week:

Relating to someone can be very difficult sometimes, especially if they are from a different culture. So, the more someone can relate to another person, the more apt the listen is to listen. For instance, David MacInnes is a talented skater. He holds a weekly Bible study for local skaters at Snowbird. I would have a harder time than David to keep those boys coming back faithfully since i don't skate. They have respect for them because he has used the talent of skating God has given him to relate to them.

Here's a crude diagram of what's going on in my head. The thinking is a bit abstract, so bear with me.

God's Story (red) is a story from the Bible. Creation, David and Goliath, the Temptation of Jesus, the Crucifixion, etc.

My Story (yellow) is my testimony of my salvation and other stories from my life. My family, my friends, my experiences, etc.

Their Story (green) is the stories from their life. Assuming they are lost, they, of course, won't have a testimony of salvation.

Cultural Story (blue) is a story that most people in that culture know about. It can be a legend, a historical event, or even a popular movie or song.

Now, in the example of David and the skaters, the majority of their individual stories don't overlap, but they have found common ground in skating, represented by the lime green area between "My" and "Their" stories.

An example of where My and God's stories meet (orange) is with John the Baptist. I think he and i have a lot in common.

An example of where God's and Cultural stories meet (purple) is with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. At the end of this movie, Jones walks across an invisible bridge over a bottomless canyon to get to the Holy Grail, symbolic of eternal life. Since he cannot see it, he must solely trust his fathers book, the journal. Jones stepped out and as soon as the bridge caught his foot, he could see it. The same is true with the Gospel. A lost person cannot experience or see the Bridge before he steps on it. He has only the Bible, our Father's Book, to tell him the Bridge is there. The Bridge is Christ and It must be crossed to obtain salvation. By putting his faith in that Bridge, he will receive eternal life.

Do you see how these circles can overlap and things become more relevant the more they overlap. My prayer is that i will be able to present the Gospel to South Americans in a way that is relevant to them.

When Bruce Olson witnessed to the Motilone tribe in Columbia, he used his own testimony, the Gospel, and Motilone legends about ants and banana leaves to help them understand the Gospel. I recommend his book about this story, Bruchko.

Please pray that i'll present the Gospel so that the people understand. I feel that a people group will most likely understand where some or all these Stories (God's, mine, their's, and their culture's stories) meet, represented in the center black space. Please pray with me that i'd be able to find where all 4 meet. More importantly, pray that God would simply save many of them and they would, in turn, lead many others to Him.