Galatians 1:11-2:10

“THIS IS MY STORY”

 

What’s your story?

            If I told you my story, how I came to follow Christ, it would not be very dramatic. A lot of people struggle to tell their stories because they feel it’s not much of a story. They grew up in Christian homes, went to church all their lives, and at some point, accepted the faith of their parents as their own. Not much to tell. I fall into that box except for a few personally impactful moments that mean something to me. 

            Sharon and I know a fellow from the other side of the river that has one of those dramatic stories. Donald’s life was one of darkness. He was classically wicked. Don had been a drug dealer, a pimp, and the muscle for a loan shark. He told of beating guys up for late payments on those high interest loans. Donald was from Quebec, a Francophone, but he looks Italian, like a Guido or a Tony. Talks like one too. His bosses (mafia types) sent him all across Canada (to hear the stories strains belief at times), and on one of those trips he met a man who shared Jesus with him. Eventually, Donald’s life was turned upside-down and now he loves the Lord. 

            That’s a dramatic conversion story. Have you ever envied people with those stories? Don’t. It’s not necessary. I have come to grasp that the lack of drama in our stories is more than compensated for by the drama of Christ’s story. I tell people to focus on Jesus when sharing their stories and not to give a biography. 

            Paul relates his story to the Galatians. But there is a reason for it. Remember, there were people in those churches that cast doubts on his authority and credibility to preach Jesus. They were saying his gospel was missing something, that Jesus crucified was not enough. We call these people “Judaizers.” That means that they wanted to combine Jewish practices with Christian faith, they wanted to force non-Jews to follow the Law, like they did. These people questioned Paul’s gospel: From where did Paul’s gospel come? 

            So, this is why he tells his story. It’s a dramatic story. But he begins at the right place, with Jesus. He wrote, “For I would have you know, (brothers and sisters), that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man (see 1:18 & 2:1-10), nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ,”(1:11-12). The source of Paul’s gospel was a revelation of Jesus Christ. 

            Paul does not go into great detail about his background for he says, “…you have heard of my former life in Judaism…” (13a). Clearly, he shared his story when he first met these people (as he did in most locales; see Philippians 3:5-6). The contrast was stark. Paul had once hunted Christians and worked hard to destroy the church. Everyone knew that dark history. If they didn’t, he told them. 

            In the book of Acts, the story of Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus is told three times. The original narrative is told in Acts 9:1-19. From this point onwards, the narrative of Acts mostly follows Paul’s mission. Later, when he is arrested in Jerusalem on a trumped-up charge, he tells his story of meeting Jesus on that road to a crowd. Finally, while standing trial before King Agrippa and Festus. That’s the version I want to read to you now since it matches Galatians 1 so closely (Read Acts 26:9-18). 

            Now in Galatians he covers this remarkable story in just two verses. He does not want to go on and on about himself. He wants to emphasize the grace of God that covers the story. 

            I love how he unpacks the grace shown to him in verses 15-16. Grace is introduced with a “but.” “But when he who had set me apart before I was born…” (15a). By the grace of God, Paul had been chosen to preach to the Gentiles long before an infant was named Saul or Paul. I find that bewildering. I know that God chooses people for special tasks, and they stand out in history. People like Martin Luther, John Wesley, Menno Simons, and others come to mind. Even while Paul was breathing out murderous threats upon Christians, God had set him apart for this special ministry. 

            That’s where grace emerges in this story. Paul, the terror of Christ-followers everywhere, says that the One who set him apart “called me by his grace,” (15b). At the right time – trust me, I don’t understand what the right time is, God knows – God called Paul, that is, he revealed Christ to him. We all have loved ones who do not yet believe in Jesus, and we may wonder when or if God will call them. Or have they been called but said “no”? God is still calling them. He calls them by his grace. Not that Paul deserved to be called – that’s not the point. Grace, to state it redundantly, is undeserved. 

            What Paul received was a special revelation of Jesus. And this is the source of his gospel, the gospel that was being questioned by the Judaizers. I realized something a few weeks ago and it really made sense of the book of Acts. When the Eleven apostles were waiting for the Holy Spirit to come upon them and empower them, they did some busy-work. You know “busy-work” that fills the time when you should just be waiting on God. The eleven remaining apostles decided to replace Judas who had killed himself in grief over what he had done to Jesus. They cast lots and the lot fell to Matthias to replace Judas. And Matthias went on to become one of the greatest apostles you ever heard of, right? Wrong. Eight chapters later, Jesus chose Saul/Paul to be that missing apostle. His missionary work for Jesus began on a dusty road leading to Damascus. Paul describes this encounter succinctly to the Galatians saying that God, “was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…” (16a).

            The language of this revelation is also filled with grace and love. It is not that the death and sacrifice of Jesus compelled God to do something that he would not otherwise have done. No, God the Father was pleased to reveal his Son, Jesus Christ, to Paul. Doesn’t this show us that at the very ground level, the gospel is a story of God’s love? It’s like a father who has been away on a business trip and his children welcome him with smiles and saying, “What did you bring us?” And anticipating their hopes and wishes, he smiles broadly as he reveals the gift that he carefully carried from some far-off place. Here it is! God reveals his Son to Paul on that lonely road and shines his glorious light through Jesus so that now he can see that the heart of the Law of Moses has always been Jesus. In Jesus the Law is satisfied. Just like in the Acts narrative, Paul says, “Who are you sir?” and the response, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.” 

            This is Paul’s story.

            You need a story to tell. Why do you need a story? All of us tell stories about ourselves. They define us. To know someone well is to know her story or his story – the experiences that shaped them, the trials and victories that have tested them. We want to be known, so we share stories from our childhood, our families, school years, first loves, and sufferings. Sometimes we think our surgeries define us. 

            When we tell the story that really matters, we want to focus the story on such a way that Christ is preeminent, that puts the spotlight on Jesus. The story is still about us, but it’s more so about God calling us by his grace to know Jesus his Son. We want our listeners to see our lives as God sees them, as lives that have been transformed by Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. This teaches us to shape our lives according to what Christ has done. 

            Sharon shared an important element in storytelling after one of her work conferences. She said that we need to change the narrative in our storytelling. I could say that (and I do) that my college class fell flat because no one said anything, no one asked questions, no one responded, so I felt defeated. Or I could change the narrative and say that no one responded to my lecture because they were so impacted and overwhelmed that they didn’t know what to say. (Maybe).

            The point is how we share the narrative. Paul used his story to demonstrate that the gospel he preached was not about him, it didn’t come from his imagination, it wasn’t made up. NO, it was a revelation from God of his Son, Jesus Christ! And that’s what gave his story and his preaching credibility. 

            Jesus’ story becomes our story. God has shown us his Son – in the Word, in a sermon, in an experience.

            In his book “A Faith to Proclaim,” James S. Stewart made reference to Paul’s declaration to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me…” Stewart said, “To be thus taken command of, so that our testimony, when we go out to speak of Christ, is not ours at all, but Christ’s self-testimony – this is our vocation and the hope of our ministry.” 

            Jesus’ story is our story. 

            You do have a story to tell, a dramatic story…the story of Jesus. 

            The Christian music group Big Daddy Weave sings a song that punctuates this point called “My Story.” We are going to sing this song in closing, but I want to highlight the words:

If I told you my story

You would hear Hope that wouldn’t let go.

And if I told you my story

You would hear Love that never gave up.

And if I told you my story

You would Life, but it wasn’t mine

 

If I should speak then let it be

Of the grace that is greater than all my sin

Of when justice was served and where mercy wins

Of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in

Oh, to tell you my story is to tell of Him.

 

That’s our story!

 

I want to impress this story in our hearts and minds again this morning by sharing in reading these words together:

 

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me,” (2:20)

 

That’s our story, folks! 

 

                                                AMEN