When I was young, “Show and Tell” used to be one of my favorite things. The reason why I loved it so much is that I got the opportunity to get up in front of the class and talk about something that was very special to me. And I still love show-and-tell but not for the reasons I loved it back then.
I love when people show and tell transformational stories of God’s love and power in their lives. I love it! It is such an encouragement to me. Let’s face it, there are so many stories of heartache, betrayal, and failure. All we need to do is to open the paper, turn on the news or talk to some friends in order to hear about all the brokenness in our world. Don’t get me wrong, as we share who we are we must be able to be authentic and vulnerable, honestly telling the stories of our own pain and brokenness. I’m not advocating that we put on a mask and pretend that everything is ok when it’s not. But we also desperately need to hear how and when God shows up in those moments! It’s valuable when we show and tell about:
- a neighbor or friend putting their trust in Jesus
- how with God’s help, a temptation became a little bit easier to overcome
- God revealing a direction to take
- a Scripture that keeps showing up in your life
- someone who was healed of a physical or emotional wound
- how God’s love was shown to someone when they were sick
- relationships that have been restored
- provision after putting God first in your finances
These are the stories that don’t make the news. They are just as dramatic and life-changing, but the world is less likely to hear them. But for those of us who are living and leading lives in hopes of bringing new life through Jesus to those around us, we need stories like these! They are critical! They spur us on to persevere and remind us why we are committed to God and His Kingdom in the first place. We serve a God of transformation! We love a God of hope and power, a God who can do incomparably more than we can ask or imagine! And we need to show and tell each other and the world!
You have stories of transformation to share. The question is, how can you build intentional times of “Show and Tell” into your life in order to share who you are?
Never underestimate the power of sharing how you are experiencing God in your life. Make sure you have time to show and tell!