I Love to Tell the Story, ELW 661
3 I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.
And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,
I'll sing the old, old story
That I have loved so long.
Refrain
Devotion
When my family gets together, we tell (and re-tell!) stories about my grandparents building their home by themselves, one room at a time, during the years of the Great Depression. Or the snowstorm that nearly kept my parents from making it to the hospital in time to deliver their first child (me!). Every family has a story, and it is easy to see how these stories shape us to be the people we are.
The same is true for our church family. We have a story—the story of "Jesus and his love." This story is not something outside of us, something we can "take or leave" depending on the day. The story of Jesus is our story—and the stories of our families and our own lives are a part of God's story! All of these stories are part of the "old, old story" (v. 3) that shape each of us to be a unique child of God.
The next time your family gets together (whether your blood family or your faith family), take some time to tell the story. And remember, all of our stories are part of God's story, and God's story is undeniably and inseparably a part of each of us.
Prayer
God, the story of your grace lives in me. Help me to tell that story with all my heart, all my soul and all my might—with all that I do, and with all that I am. Amen.