Wholeness: Testimony 2.0

A common practice in the church is sharing testimonies. However, most of the time they are all about first finding Christ, and occasionally a healing experience. Isn't there more we could be sharing with one another? There is more to salvation than the initial glory after all. We must continue to work it out through discipleship. That is ultimately how we find wholeness, manage to set ourselves apart from the world, and for a mission. As well as genuine righteousness.

Then again, maybe there isn't much to tell. As a Christian counselor once revealed to me, many of his clients think being a Christian is just a matter of being a nice guy or a good girl. Actual transformation and calling never seem to come into it. Why should they think there is any more to it when we aren't telling our full stories of discipleship?

Take Peter; for example, scripture tells more stories of his failures than his successes. That is what makes him relatable. Why don't we afford ourselves the same? Maybe because that also makes us vulnerable. While we do see that as a positive trait in others, we don't in ourselves. If we were really confident in who we are in Christ, then we wouldn’t fear vulnerability.

My point being we need to let ourselves tell all our stories of discipleship. Where we succeeded, as well as how we failed. How we found our purpose, where we misfired with our calling. How we overcame our scars, and how they got there in the first place. How we heard from God, and how we might have misinterpreted his message before that. How we stumbled, how we stagnated, and how we found our way back to the path again. We need to tell the whole story so that we understand. Not just the select bits we share in small groups that make us look good. The whole story that reveals every step of our journey, including the mistakes. That is what can delight and inspire people to move forward, to not give up, and not settle for a painted-on-surface faith. This is what builds a community of whole, set apart, and righteous people. Is that not what a disciple of Christ should want?

The Visual PARABLEist

2nd Corinthians 4:7