The story of your life - Thur 1 March 2007

Mooching around WH Smith the other day I was clobbered by the sheer number of autobiographies for sale, and then more so by the age of the writers. At 24, Paris Hilton produced ‘Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose’ which apparently “features full color photographs of her and gives her tips on the dos and don'ts of living as an heiress”. Well I’m sure it’s a riveting read (NYT bestseller) but is also blatantly an exercise in vanity and money-making. This actually disgusted me, and I felt uneasy about my place within a self-centred society where life experience is frequently cashed in for temporary riches.

And then I read from Acts and was refreshed and inspired by a complete alternative. (‘Acts 21:27 – Acts 22:24’, it’s a cracking story – if you’ve got three minutes, read it now!)

Paul is jumped by a mob of Jews who try to kill him. The Roman soldiers get involved & Paul manages to convince the captain to let him speak to the crowd. So Paul stands on some steps, silencing the mob, and talks them through his autobiography in a nutshell. He tells about his violent past, his conversion, how his life is different, and he does all this in a language that they understand. Then he’s interrupted by the crowd shouting “Kill him!” and the soldiers take him away to be tortured.

It is obvious from this story that Paul’s life had God at its centre; when he was faced with death he seized the opportunity to glorify Jesus and give the credit to God for everything.
What is central to your life? When it comes down to it – old age, illness, hard times, will you give the glory to Jesus?

Which of these would you rather sing?

Elvis’ lyrics from ‘My way’
“I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fails, my share of losing
And now as tears subside
I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh, no, no not me -
I did it my way”

Paul’s lyrics from Galatians 2:20 (The Message)
“My ego is no longer central… Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.”