I know some who do not like the phrase “Bible stories.” I understand that. It may imply the Word of God is a fairy tale. Still, the Bible is a story, a true story, the “greatest story ever told” as we say. It’s a story without a beginning for it is from eternity. Yet, “once upon a time,” at just the right time (Galatians 4:4), the story takes on human flesh.
At the beginning of the story—Jesus’ conception—Gabriel gives a preview of the story. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). This would be the story of God in the flesh from His conception to His resurrection and ascension and continuing on into eternity. It would be the story of God becoming great in weakness and suffering, the story of a King who would establish an eternal kingdom and reign over it forever with grace and truth.
Satan did not want this story to unfold. He tried to cut it short with Herod’s dread decree (Matthew 2:16). He tried to sidetrack the story through his temptations of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11). He tried to stop the story by challenging the Son of God to come down from the cross (Matthew 27:39-43). Satan failed. But he didn’t go away. He now does his best with his lies and deceit to keep us from telling the story.
Satan did not win. It is as a defeated enemy that he strives to malign the story. But the “gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The resurrection that we observed this month and continue to celebrate is our ongoing victory party!
Every life is a story to be told. Every life is a parchment crafted by God and purchased by the blood of Jesus upon which He desires to write a story to glorify His name.
Let me tell you a story, a true story. Once upon a time a man who had been adopted went on a journey to find his birth mother. He succeeded. As a young, unmarried schoolteacher, she had become pregnant. She went to another part of the country, gave birth, and placed her son for adoption. She never married or had other children. But because she chose not to cut a story short and let it be told, she met her son, his wife, and her grandchildren. One of her grandchildren was a Lutheran schoolteacher, and two others were studying to do so. Because she let the story be told, she had a family; she was part of the story.
Abortion does more than destroy a human life. It stops a story. Assisted suicide and euthanasia do more than bring a life to an end. They stop a story. These are stories God wants told, stories through whom He desires to work to touch the lives of others and to extend His rule of truth and grace. These are stories that will accomplish His purpose and bring glory to His name. The love of Christ compels us to do all we can so these stories will be heard. And remember, because of our resurrected Savior, we are assured our story will never end. Put another way, we will live happily ever after!