Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. – Psalm 66:16

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 11, 2013): Psalm 66 & 67

When I was eighteen and living on my own for the first time, I had the opportunity to go and see a concert (the band was Prism and I loved their first single – Spaceship Superstar.) I didn’t have a car so I was dependent on public transit to get around the city. So I came out of the stadium after a great concert and a great night, said good-bye to a friend who was heading to the opposite end of the city, and went to find my bus. But I was too late; all of the buses had left. There was no way out of the downtown area, except to walk. And so that was what I did. It was miles from where the concert was to my apartment in the south end of the city, but I had run out of choices. It was a warm night and I needed to get home. At one point in the trip I remember stopping on the side of the hill for a rest when a police cruiser passed by. At four in the morning I still remember their opening pick up line of the police officer – he told me that I was on the wrong side of the hill for sun tanning. Well, I had to admit that he was right – and at time of the morning it was not just the hill that I was on the wrong side of.

There is power in a story. If you read this one, it might have triggered memories of things that have happened in your life – maybe concerts you have seen – or times when you were trapped somewhere with no option to go for a long walk. To be honest, this story was brought to mind by the story of a friend who had to make a similar trip out of the center of the same city (Calgary) because of recent flooding in that city. A story has the power to do that. But that story is his – and not mine. But one thing leads to another, and the hearer makes connections that we could never have guessed could be made. And sometimes, if the right connections are made, the result of a simple story can result in a changed life.

In the book of Acts, Luke tells the story of Paul’s conversion three times. Each time the story is told it is from a bit of a different angle, but every time the story is told, it is told with the potential to change a life. Now, Paul probably told the story a lot more than just three times, but that is natural because it was, after all, his story.  

So it is not surprising that the Psalmist asks us to come close and hear the story of what God has done in his life. But the intention of the Psalmist goes beyond his own story. It is a reminder to all of the listeners that the story of God needs to be told. Because within the words of the story is the power to change the lives of everyone who is willing to hear.       

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 89