Do you have one? Can you tell it with drama and intrigue? Throw in a little suspense and there you have it- a tantalizing tale of salvation. Everyone who comes to Christ has a story to tell. And everyone’s story is as unique as they are unique. Yet everyone’s story is not tantalizing.

I’ve heard great stories of people coming to Christ from really dark places. Some folks were heavy into addictive lifestyles. Others were headed down roads that were going to lead them to self destruction or destruction of those that loved them had they not decided to turn and follow Jesus. I remember stories told during revival “testimony time” that would curl your toenails. Drug dealers, prostitutes, thieves, and gang bangers all turning their lives over to the One who died so that they could live.

I remember feeling slightly jealous that I would probably never be asked to share my dullsville conversion story.

Why couldn’t I have been an alcohol abusing/drug using/reprobate turned Christ follower? But it just wasn’t my story. It is true that through salvation we all turn from darkness to light, from death to life, but we don’t all have racy stories.

Can you name the time and date of your redemption? Those are helpful to solidify in one’s mind the blessed event, but what if you can’t? What if all you have is the distant childhood memory of believing? Of trusting that Jesus was who He said He was, and knowing that you needed Him so desperately.

I’ll just bet that the Apostle Paul could mark his salvation day down to the second! Talk about a titillating story! He had just witnessed the stoning of Steven, and was headed to celebrate that event by persecuting and murdering more Christians. It was on the road to Damascus that Paul’s story of redemption took place. It is recorded for us in Acts 9.
Saul (Paul’s pre-Christian name) was struck blind by a great light as he traveled. I suppose that got his attention. Then the voice of Jesus himself spoke to Saul, and told him that he had been chosen to be the mouthpiece of Christ to the very ones he intended to do harm. In that moment, Paul’s life was forever changed. I doubt there has ever been a more tantalizing salvation story.

What if you can’t even recall the day of your conversion? What then?

But what if your story just doesn’t hold the same intrigue as Paul’s? What if it’s downright anticlimactic by comparison? What if it happened so long ago it’s but a warm fuzzy place in your heart? That’s my story. It’s simple. I can’t even tell you the exact year, season, or day of the week. Yet I remember the moment, and I remember the place.
It was not a fancy place at all. The situation was not exciting. There was no blinding light. No audible voice of Christ. No directive to go and do anything as a result. I didn’t even tell anyone it had happened. Not my parents, best friend, or my pastor. The person who led me into a relationship with Christ didn’t even know he had. Still, I was forever changed in that moment. In that moment, I realized without a doubt that Jesus died for me, wanted desperately to know me, and for me to know Him.

My daughter recently had the misfortune of encountering some well meaning, yet misguided, folks who challenged the validity of her salvation experience simply because it was not exciting enough. My daughter accepted Jesus at an early age in the comfort of her own bedroom, gently led by parents who love her. She wasn’t walking out of a life of debauchery. The details of that day are even a bit blurry for her. She was just a mostly obedient, yet self-centered kid, who desperately wanted to follow Jesus. Those well-meaning folks nearly caused her to discount that most precious moment. That is, until I introduced her to a young man in the Bible named Timothy.

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, Paul states- “I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”

There was no apparent fanfare when Timothy came to believe and trust in Christ.
Timothy’s experience was one of faith handed down from his grandma, to his mom, and then to him. Some would even say his story is rather mundane. Yet it was grand enough for Paul to mention, and for God to place in the Bible. Laura comes from a long line of believers. Her story, like mine, would fall more easily under the Timothy category than the Paul category, yet I am no less thankful for it.

I think Timothy’s story of belief is included in scripture for people like Laura and me. It points to the fact that, racy or not, one’s salvation story is evidence of the truth of Christ. Important enough to share with others who need so much to begin their own story of faith and regeneration.

What’s your story?