You Have a Story, Too
You Have a Story, Too by Rev. L. John Gable
June 5, 2016
If you were with us last week in worship, and I know a number of you were otherwise engaged in another event of some significance going on in the city; however, if you were in worship with us you may recall that we are starting a sermon series on the book of Galatians.
The Apostle Paul is writing to a cluster of churches he had founded in the region of Galatia, around the modern day city of Ankara in Turkey. As he often did during his missionary trips, particularly during times of his own imprisonment, he wrote letters. Most often in response to some specific question or concern those new believers had, or his own reflections on their kindness during his time with them, but not so in his letter to the Galatians. He opens this letter with a rather terse, severe, even defensive tone, as if someone is challenging his apostleship and the Gospel message he is preaching.
Paul is confronting the false teaching of some so called Judaizers who insist that in order to be a Christian one must first become a Jew and follow all of the Mosaic Law, including circumcision. Paul’s insistence is that the Gospel message is clear and unambiguous: we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, nothing more and nothing less. But many were questioning whether Paul had the right and authority to be teaching this new Gospel which seemed to contradict 2000 years of religious history and tradition. Further, they wondered by what authority was he even able to call himself an apostle? An apostle typically was one who had actually been with Jesus, like Peter, Andrew, James and John, the “pillar apostles” and leaders of the early Church. So here Paul is claiming that his experience on the road to Damascus, when he met the Risen Lord face to face, was equivalent to their experience of three years with Him. Certainly this is an interesting argument which Paul attempts to answer in an interesting way – by telling his own story. Paul is generally pretty silent about his own biography, but not here. Rather he uses his own story, not as a means of self-promotion, but in order to demonstrate the power of God’s grace to touch and change a life, specifically his own.
He argues that his apostolic authority comes from God, through a revelation of Jesus Christ, not from human origin. I didn’t learn it; I received it! He openly acknowledges his former life; how he had excelled in Judaism, claiming to be more zealous than any other, and how he had been intent on violently persecuting the Church. Any rumors anyone had ever heard about his former life were true, until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus and everything about him changed. From that moment on he knew that God had chosen and called him by His grace to bring the message of salvation to the Gentile world. Paul was using his own life experience to demonstrate the power of the Gospel he was now preaching. It was the grace of God that transformed him from being a zealous Pharisee intent on persecuting new Christians to being a preacher intent on bringing the Gospel message to the Gentiles. As I reflected on this passage I made a note to myself that Paul went “from persecutor to Presbyterian, from biker to Baptist.” However, he takes no credit for this change; this was the work of God’s grace in his life. In his conversion he was commissioned to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the known world and by his witness that Good News spread across land and sea, and time and space, to our hearing today.
As I read this text I began to wonder, if Paul could use his story to argue for his right to be heard, perhaps you and I can as well, as each of us has a unique story to tell about how God has touched and changed our lives with His grace.
My story is not dramatic in any sense, but it speaks of the faithfulness of God and the influence of His grace in my life. I was born into a Christian family, something for which I will be eternally grateful, with parents and grandparents on both sides who were committed Christians and active in the Church. I was one of those who never questioned going to church because it was never really up for debate; if you were of the Gable clan you were going. From the time of my childhood I was exposed to good teaching from the pulpit and loving Sunday School teachers and friends.
The summer between by 7th and 8th grade years I was attending a Lion’s Fair Carnival in our little suburb of St. Louis and I was approached by a young man with long hair, a scraggly beard and tattered blue jeans who wanted to tell me about Jesus. Some of you will recall the Jesus movement of the 1970’s. He was a “Jesus freak.” As we sat and talked I realized that the Jesus he was telling me about was the same Jesus I had known my whole life at home and at church – I had just never thought to talk about Him so openly, at someplace like at a carnival – and suddenly a light bulb went off or came on. That conversation was an “AHA!” moment for me as it was my confirmation that I really did believe in this Jesus for myself; that my faith was my own, not that of my parents or even of my Church.
Was that my conversion experience? I don’t know, perhaps, or perhaps it was one of many I have had in my life. For some, conversion is one momentous act of turning, for others it is a series of smaller acts, yet what is essential for all of us is that we have, in fact, made the turn to follow Jesus in faith. From that moment on I knew I wanted to orient my life to Him and shortly after that I felt God’s call to ministry. Together, those two events set me in my life’s direction, meaning and purpose: following Jesus and dedicating myself to a life of service in His name. Like Paul, this is not something I can take credit for on my own; it is the work of God’s grace in my life and the verse which has guided me more than any other, is taken from Philippians chapter 1 where Paul writes, “live your life in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.” That has been, and continues to be, my life’s desire.
During those early years I became very active in a number of Christian organizations which gave me opportunities for learning and leadership, pieces of the puzzle I would draw on later in life. One particular teaching became very influential in my life. It is titled “I’m Third.” I’ll not read all of it to you, but it is the story of young man who went off to college and prominently displayed a small plaque on his desk which read, “I’m Third.” His friends would often ask him, “What does that mean?”, but he only answered, “I’ll tell you the day I graduate.” Four years passed and the young man did very well in school. He had many friends and was well respected by both his peers and his professors alike. Many would refer to him as being their closest friend, the one they would turn to for advice or in a time of difficulty.
When the day of his graduation arrived his friends remembered his promise to tell them the meaning of “I’m Third” and he did. He said, “I have tried to live my life by this simple motto: God first, the other person second, and ‘I’m third.’” Suddenly the defining character and principles and values of this young man made perfect sense to all who knew him. He lived his life from the inside out: God first, the other person second, himself third. I still try to live my life with that priority. Some have suggested it is the secret to real JOY: Jesus first, Others second, Yourself third.
Throughout high school and college I continued to feel God’s call to ministry, but I also considered other occupations knowing I could serve the Lord in many ways without being a pastor. I considered business, my dad was a banker, and medicine and sports therapy, but every time I tested one of those other fields I always came back to a sense of call to ordained ministry. In fact, the only time I ever really argued with my father was over that sense of call. He challenged me on it, pressing me to follow him in to the business world. He challenged me on every aspect of ministry: the work, the hours, the demands, the pay, the lifestyle, until one day I finally said, “I don’t get it. Why don’t you want me to be a pastor?” He said, “Oh, that decision is yours to make. I just want to make sure you are doing it for the right reasons.” And after that he became my biggest supporter.
I’m not really sure why I have told you my story today. I know I have told you pieces of it before. It isn’t dramatic or exciting, but it is the story of how God has been at work in my life. It is the story of God’s grace to me and the way it has shaped my faith and my character. Candidly, I don’t really think of myself as being a pastor. Rather I think of myself as being a follower of Jesus who has been privileged to serve Him and His Kingdom in this way. This is not so much what I do, it is who I am, and I pray that my life is nothing more and nothing less than a witness to God’s grace.
Several years ago the staff did a study together on a book called Lead Like Jesus. At one point we were asked to write our personal mission statement and this is what I wrote: I desire to live a life of integrity and purpose which brings honor to God and encouragement to others. I pray that that is so.
This is my story of God’s grace, just as we’ve heard Paul’s story. And the beauty of it all is, you’ve got a story, too. So, go tell it.