This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:24-25)
My wife and I recently listened to some audiobooks on a long road trip. On this particular journey, we especially enjoyed P.D. James making a murder mystery out of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. If you know Austen’s works, it might be hard to imagine any of her characters doing dastardly things, but that was part of the fun of listening to the story.
In today’s scripture, John finishes his gospel by saying that all the libraries in the world couldn’t hold all the things Jesus had done. Because there were already so many stories of Jesus’ teachings, love, and miracles, no building could hold all of those sacred manuscripts.
Words on a page comprise a book. Sharing words comprise a disciple. In other words, we’re called to be Audio Books for Jesus. We all have stories to share about how Jesus has loved, forgiven, encouraged, blessed, and healed us. If we wrote down all of our stories, no library could hold all of those books.
Although we may not be inclined to write down and make books about our Jesus stories, we must work through any reluctance to share our stories about Him. Sharing our stories may help others to receive the hope, mercy, love, and courage they need. Sharing our stories may also help them to see how Jesus has been and is working in their life.
I encourage us to be Audio Books for Jesus. The journey of life is filled with roadblocks, detours, and potholes. Sometimes we get lost. We all need each other’s stories to inspire us to keep on traveling. Jesus calls us to be living and speaking testaments of His love for each other. Our Jesus stories are sacred manuscripts that need to be treasured and shared.
Reflection Questions:
- Do you find it easy or hard to share your stories about how Jesus has touched your life? If hard, how come?
- What are the Jesus stories you could share? When have you felt His grace, mercy, love, healing, support, presence, and peace? Do you have any idea how helpful your stories would be for someone to hear?
- Before we can be persuasive Audio Books for Jesus, we need to consider if our words and actions are consistent. Although we might be sharing Jesus with our words, are we sharing Him with how we live? Do you have any work to do so that the audio and visual of your life are more congruent?