Who doesn’t love a good story? Part of the joy of our family gatherings is hearing the stories of what has happened since the last time we were together. We laugh over the funny stories. We empathize with the challenging stories. Even the sad stories connect us. We marvel over stories of answered prayer, and how God has intervened in unexpected ways.
Even when we have heard about a situation before, there are gaps. The details are missing. The face to face conversations fill in a lot of the missing pieces.
Apparently God likes a good story too. In the Bible, the prophet Malachi talks about a book of remembrance. It tells us those who feared the Lord spoke with each other and the Lord listened. In His presence a scroll was written concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name (Malachi 3:16).
The Bible is filled with stories of faith. Good stories. We know Enoch pleased God, and didn’t die. God just took Him to heaven. Noah built an ark, and his family survived the flood. Paul and Silas were imprisoned, and spent the night singing praise songs.
These and other stories are recorded to encourage our faith. We see God’s power work in miraculous ways through the faith of His servants. We see God work in response to great faith. We see God work in response to small faith. We see God take care of His people, despite their flaws and failings. We see God commend faith where He finds it. We see Him work through circumstances to grow the faith of His people. He works in and through people just like us to accomplish great things–because He is a great God.
But a lot of details are missing. There are gaps. What was it like for Enoch’s family when he disappeared? Did they see God carry him off? Is that how they knew he had gone to heaven? How did Noah’s wife respond through all the years Noah was building the ark? Was she supportive? What was it like for Noah and his family to be on the ark for over a year? How did they feed all the animals? How did they relax in the evenings? When Paul and Silas were in prison, we know there was an earthquake. All of the prison doors flew open and the chains came loose. All the prisoners could have escaped but they stayed to listen to Paul and Silas praise God. How many of the prisoners came to faith?
It is one thing to read an account of an event. How much richer to talk to someone who was there. When we get to heaven, we will be able to learn the details of all those stories. We will learn the details of all the stories still being written. Your stories. My stories. We will learn about all the unwritten stories. John said if all the things Jesus did while on earth were written down, the world could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25).
Part of the joy of heaven will be hearing all the stories–stories of faith, of impossible situations, miracles, fear, and overcoming. We will learn the details of all the stories about God’s faithfulness. And every one will be a good story.
For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord! Psalm 117:2
What details of your favorite stories are you eager to learn? Please leave a comment below.
Blessings,
Phyllis
Copyright 2024 Phyllis L. Farringer
Image by congerdesign from Pixabay
Thanks for the post, Phyllis. I often imagine what heaven will be like, and if part of what we do will be tell our life stories to everyone. I guess if we do, we don’t have to rush, because we will have eternity. 🙂
Thanks, Joni. I think you are right about no need to rush–we will just enjoy each moment.