Paul Tells The Story (Again) - October 11, 2010

Daily Lectionary Readings for October 11, 2010
Psalm 44
Hosea 11:12-12:1
Acts 26:1-23
Luke 8:26-39

Acts 26:1-23
Paul appearing before King Agrippa to defend himself against the charges brought by the Jewish leadership.  It takes little time for him to get to a story he tells in several places in Scripture and which, I suspect, he told many more times throughout his life - the story of his conversion on the Damascus Road.  Paul's regular retelling of this seminal moment in his life can serve as an example to us.  Many of us are reluctant to speak of our faith - we don't want to impose, we feel like we are being pushy.  Whether we had a conversion experience of a dramatic sort as Paul did or something less dramatic, but no less meaningful - we came to know Christ somehow.  It is important for us to retell the story of how we came to know Christ as it, first, speaks to our excitement in coming to this life changing relationship and, second, shares an example that relationship came into being for us.  By telling and retelling our story we become comfortable with the story and learn to tell it in a way that is not an imposition and not pushy, but simply an authentic part of who we are.