Storytelling is for everyone.

This is my weekly article for Dexter's newsletter "The Steeple" for July 30, 2006.
Storytelling is for everyone.
At 90 Sarah laughed and asked Abraham, “Can I really have a child when I am so old?" (Genesis 18:13) But God repeatedly says that age is not a barrier to how we can be used. Our VBS children are learning this week that Noah was a very old man when he built the ark. Another time we will teach them that Moses was 80 and Aaron 83 when they confronted the Egyptian Pharaoh and demanded their people’s freedom.
Our cardboard ark and construction paper are humble reminders that we probably will never build an ark that could carry a saving remnant of this earth’s human and animal population anymore than a woman could bare a child at 90. But we can grow in faith and tell stories, sing, dance and/or craft art with each other. We can pray and encourage and lift up each other’s spirits. We tell of Christ in these ways by living with compassion and hope in a loving community. Peter and John said, "We cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:20). This coming Sunday we will let our community’s children speak, sing, dance and exhibit their art about how God saved Noah’s family and the animals for life after the great flood. This will prepare our hearts to learn (and relearn) the Gospel stories about Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection that saved us for eternal life with God.
Our shared stories link our lives by keeping the past alive and strengthening our relationships. Our relationship with God was very weak before "Noah did everything just as God commanded him" (Genesis 6:22). Noah obediently built the ark and gathered the animals over many years against many obstacles before the flood came. Our story can be like Noah’s, if we obey Christ’s call to: love our enemies, do good to those who persecute us, feed the hungry, visit the sick and comfort the imprisoned. Obedience to mind of Christ unmistakably tells our love for God.
Dear Heavenly Father, please lead us into situations where we can serve you. Thank you for our unique purposes in life. Please help us listen for your voice in everyone’s story. Thank you for the stories that enliven our faith and strengthen our bond in Christ. Please give us strength and the fortitude to obey you in all things. In the precious name of Jesus Christ, Amen.