Why would we want to hear a story we already know?
Why retell history?

That’s the question that Christians often face – why keep telling the same message?
Isn’t it outdated or obsolete?

During a fascinating interview, John Anderson and Jordan B. Peterson discussed the role of story and memory –
“The purpose of memory,” Doctor Peterson said, “is to extract out from the past, the lessons to structure the future.”
Memory is designed so we learn from the past, but only if we keep telling the story.
“Bring it forward,” he said, ”propagate it, make it the most noble possible story and then you will motivate people to transcend themselves.”
So you could argue that we need this story, we need the gospel.
It’s what we need to bring forward, to propagate, to spread.

That’s what Stephen does in Acts 7, he retells Israel’s history to Israel’s leaders.
He reminds them and us that:
God is at work in every season.
He is on the move, he always has been.
And he sent Jesus for people like you and me.

Don’t miss it,
don’t miss what he has done.

Don’t miss the story of history.
God works in unusual ways,
in unlikely places,
in the people you least expect.

I don't think we need a new story, a new message, a new idea…
we need faithfulness, despite our unfaithfulness;
we need a clear word in a noisy world;
we need unending, uncompromising love.
If you ask me, I think we need Jesus.

Photo by Manuel Will on Unsplash