REFLECTIONS
May 21, 2006
 
 
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
Psalms 78:4
 
 
And Look at Me Now
 
Graduation season brings with it many days of celebration. There is party after party, but none are more significant than the Prom. Everyone looks forward to it. For the Prom is when the students put their best foot forward to be the best that they can be.
Preparation for the Prom is part of the fun. Finding just the right thing to wear in just the right color and the proper fit. The hair must be just right and the girls are even more meticulous about their makeup. And when it all comes together everyone wants to capture the transforming moment in pictures that say, “And look at me now.”
Apostle Paul must have wanted to say the same thing after his Damascus Road experience. It must have been the subject of tent talk almost everyday as he remembered his life as a zealous Pharisee leading to the moment he was struck down by the Light of Jesus. And Paul’s story would surely end with his version of, “And look at me now.”
That is also what takes place at Victory Home. I wrote about it last week. Victory Home has a party everyday and the celebrants take turns standing before each other recalling the transforming moment and saying, “And look at me now.”
While those at Victory Home are being equipped to be leaders for Jesus, they find that the simplest way to begin is by telling their own stories. It is an easy thing to do. Besides who else can tell it better. And is there anything that we have that is more powerful than our own stories—especially when it ends with, “And look at me now.”
Pastor Freddie uses that technique to make shepherds from a flock of sheep. Yes, he teaches them the Bible. He wants all of them to know it well. He wants them to be prepared to speak of it and from it; but Freddie knows that the most powerful story that most of them can tell is the transforming story that they personally lived. It is powerful because it is true. It is powerful because of the wonders of the Lord. It is powerful because in some way almost everyone that hears it will hear their own story too.
Each of us has a story to tell. It is one about our own transformation. It is powerful because it is true. It is powerful because of the wonders of the Lord. And everyone that hears it will in someway hear their story too. Your story is about who you were before something happened along the way. The ending is, “And look at me now.”
Tell your story freely. When you tell your story…
 
“You are the light of the world.”
Richard  Ì


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