We Remember Stories!

The Mirror and the Map: Using Personal Stories to Bring Scripture to Life

The art of storytelling is one of the most powerful skills that many guys underutilize.  I know I missed the boat on this for years.  Yet recently my older daughters began making an odd request whenever we found ourselves in the car for a ride.  They would make the simple request of “tell us a story from when you were a kid”.  

At first the request seemed odd and then I noticed that as the stories came up they were completely locked in and coming along for the journey. Sometime later I began to see that they found value in the stories because the primary character, their dad, was someone they could clearly see and that made it more of an adventure for them. 

I then began to consider how the way in which I tried to share Biblical truths to them was done in a different manner. In some of our original Bible study times we would look at Scripture as though peering through binoculars and while that was useful it missed the personal tie that is desperately needed.

Much like my kids request to know about times from my childhood we began to make a simple reframe with Bible study that you may find helpful. Instead of just picking up the proverbial binoculars we also began bringing a mirror mindset to this time together. That forced me as the spiritual leader to share insights into how the given scripture has shown up in my life. 

This could be challenging at times and yet I’ve found that whenever I’ve asked the Spirit for direction and wisdom on a given passage He always provides just the right pathway. Those personal stories of what God has done for us cannot be refuted and are great ways to build solid foundational blocks for those we love the most and help them progress and grow on their own discipleship journey.

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