It's The Same Old Story

F

requent visits to my grandparents’ house were a common occurrence.  When I was younger, I would walk to their home or I would ride my bike.  As I grew older, I would drive my car.  But no matter whether I was older or younger, whether I rode my bike, walked, or drove my car to get there, visits with grandma and grandpa constantly ranked in the top ten things I enjoyed most in life.

I recall many hours sitting in the den watching television or just sitting and talking.  Invariably, granddaddy would tell one of the many stories I had heard at least a thousand times.  He used the same words, the same gestures, the same tone of voice, and he paused in the same places. But the stories were always wonderful and always made me laugh. I never grew tired of hearing the same old stories and I looked forward to hearing everyone of them again and again.

We all have similar experiences about the important people in our lives.  Now when we gather for family reunions we are the ones telling the stories we heard as children.  We use the same words, the same gestures, the same tone of voice, and we pause in the same places.  The stories have the same effect on our listeners as they had on us!  We tell and retell the stories because we love them and because they mark important moments in our lives, moments when things changed, moments that brought us happiness, and moments that changed the way we view the world.

A man in the New Testament had a similar experience!  He was reading a passage from the Scriptures that he didn’t understand.  Philip, one of Jesus’ disciples, had the opportunity to tell this man the story of Jesus and Acts 8:35 records this for us. “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”

This man is better known in the Scriptures as the Ethiopian Eunuch.  He held a place of prominence and authority in the kingdom of Ethiopia.  He had been to Jerusalem to worship and was on his way back home. In his hands he held the writings of the prophet, Isaiah and the passage before him was confusing.  He was reading Isaiah 53:7-8.  Philip approached the man and asked him if he understood what he was reading.  The man replied he couldn’t unless someone explained it to him.

Philip then began to share with this man the same old story that has been told and retold for years on end.  Beginning with that very passage in Isaiah, Philip explained to the Ethiopian all about Jesus.  He explained about his birth, his life, his ministry, his crucifixion, his resurrection, and his ascension.  When Philip finished the story, the eunuch asked to be baptized right there on the spot.  He wanted to accept Jesus as savior and lord.  So the two men went into the water and Philip baptized him.

Do you realize that the road of life is strewn with people just like this man from Ethiopia?  They have heard about God and Jesus but they can’t see the big picture.  They need someone to talk to them and to explain to them how God’s love was manifested to us in the person of Jesus Christ and how he gave his life for our salvation.  All they need and want is for someone to stop along the way and tell them the same old story that has changed millions of lives. 

T

o tell the story, all you need do is use the same words from the Bible.  You can use the same gestures you’ve used before and the same tone of voice.  You can even take pauses, now and then.  But the story will be the same and the results of that story are powerful and far-reaching.  Who knows, perhaps you will have a chance to speak with someone today about Jesus.  How good of a story teller are you?