Recently I took my family to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. They have fish and other animals from around the world. Perhaps none were more curious looking than the paddle fish from Malawi, Africa.
We also saw dolphins, sea turtles and beluga whales. The beluga whale, as far as I can figure, is the Quasimodo of sea life. Their 'tricks' consisted of swimming between trainers and eating lots of fish. (Great job, Mr. Beluga, you can swim!)
It was a good day, but the most interesting thing to me was how the trainers and the caretakers kept referring to the animal's story. Perhaps I am a neanderthal, but I've never considered the story of animals. But they shared with us about turtles who had escaped boating accidents. And of course, they shared how the beluga whales were trained to swim from here to there. Amazing. Now train them to swim back.
But it's not just animals that have stories. You have a story. I have a story. (One of my stories involves dinner after being at the Shedd Aquarium. Shhh, don't tell the fish.)
Through living together we share our stories. In a good setting, we allow our stories to impact one another and help us grow.
Even more amazing than that is that we are each part of a greater story. It's God's story. He has been sharing His story with us since growing a Garden. He's invited each one of us into His story by actually injecting Himself into the middle of the story He started.
I think the people at Shedd Aquarium have caught on to something. Stories engage us and draw us in. They know that a good story is something we want to be a part of. It's a good idea, but it's not original with them. God had the same idea from the very beginning.
So have you checked out God's story? It includes quite a list of characters, from Adam and Eve all the way up to you and me. But don't be confused. This is God' story. Listen to how the Apostle Paul described it when talking to the Jewish people about Abraham.
How does your story fit into God's story?
We also saw dolphins, sea turtles and beluga whales. The beluga whale, as far as I can figure, is the Quasimodo of sea life. Their 'tricks' consisted of swimming between trainers and eating lots of fish. (Great job, Mr. Beluga, you can swim!)
It was a good day, but the most interesting thing to me was how the trainers and the caretakers kept referring to the animal's story. Perhaps I am a neanderthal, but I've never considered the story of animals. But they shared with us about turtles who had escaped boating accidents. And of course, they shared how the beluga whales were trained to swim from here to there. Amazing. Now train them to swim back.
But it's not just animals that have stories. You have a story. I have a story. (One of my stories involves dinner after being at the Shedd Aquarium. Shhh, don't tell the fish.)
Through living together we share our stories. In a good setting, we allow our stories to impact one another and help us grow.
Even more amazing than that is that we are each part of a greater story. It's God's story. He has been sharing His story with us since growing a Garden. He's invited each one of us into His story by actually injecting Himself into the middle of the story He started.
I think the people at Shedd Aquarium have caught on to something. Stories engage us and draw us in. They know that a good story is something we want to be a part of. It's a good idea, but it's not original with them. God had the same idea from the very beginning.
So have you checked out God's story? It includes quite a list of characters, from Adam and Eve all the way up to you and me. But don't be confused. This is God' story. Listen to how the Apostle Paul described it when talking to the Jewish people about Abraham.
If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we're given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story. What we read in Scripture is, "Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own. ~Romans 4:1, The Message
How does your story fit into God's story?
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