With the United States’ 250th anniversary celebration coming in 2026, I have been interested in participating in local events. It’s a historical time, and I am old enough to remember the impact of the 200th anniversary, when my mother made colonial dresses for herself, my sister, and me so we could participate in our church’s event for the occasion. While listening to the presentation at a traveling exhibit, I heard stories and saw artifacts to remind me of my heritage and our country’s legacy.
History is a collection of stories
From the earliest of time, people have been collecting the stories of peoples and nations. We find them in ancient texts, books, and scrolls. Some are found on walls of caves and inscribed on stone landmarks. A letter, diary, or rough draft of a document bears insights into a particular person or time period. True historians dig into multiple sources to put together a realistic picture for modern readers.
In a recent talk by my pastor on the story of Israel, I was impressed with his efforts to provide us with a collection of the books he had personally read to bring input to the subject. Laid out on a table, he showed us each title and shared his impression of the work and why they would be helpful for anyone seeking to better understand the topic.
He made clear, however, that we seldom refer to full volumes to gain insight into history or other topics. We are a culture that has gone from books to movies to TV shows to clips and shorts. The fragmentation of our stories leads to a distorted view of our history and that of the world at large. We often forget in our culture that we are in a story, and it’s much bigger than just that of our city, state, or nation.
You are in a larger story
The story in which we live is over six thousand years old, and it’s coming to a climax. It is the story of the God of all Creation, who prepared a place for those He made. It was perfect and beautiful, free from defects, and for the benefit of the man and woman He placed in the land. But then, yielding to the deception of the serpent, the first couple sinned. Their sin opened the door for death and destruction to the purposes of God.
Yet, the Lord God was not surprised by this. He had created man in the first place and knew, by giving him the ability to freely choose his way, man would fall. As a result, history would contain stories of anger, war, strife, and conflict, while also of courageous men and women of God who sought to do good, love, and serve God even if it cost them their lives. God did not sit back and just allow things to spin out of control. Instead, he made a way back toward His original plan for mankind, first by choosing a people for Himself. They were to obey His commands and become a blessing for all nations, but they failed. So the Lord, God of Creation, made a way by sending the Messiah, His Own Son, to take upon Himself the sin that separated man from the Father, and in conquering death, opened up the way for all who repented and believed to be saved.
Psalm 2 is an overview of our history and reveals the climax of this grand narrative.
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2 ESV)
Return to a restored sense of your place in God’s redemptive plan
Because our stories have become fragmented, and because we no longer live with a sense of familial, local, national, or worldwide community, we have lost our way and purpose. Our nation is just one nation in a long line of nations over the course of centuries and millennia, but that does not mean we have no place in God’s purposes for mankind. Nor does the fact that you are one person in a long line of people of your nation and peoples in this world mean that you are not part of the grand narrative of God’s redemptive plan.
When I read letters and histories from my own family, I learn of people of faith who helped their neighbors, served in their local churches, and some who risked coming to a new country, setting up home in uncharted lands, becoming part of new towns and governments. Some would serve in times of war and bear the scars of turbulent times. Each of these individuals would impact me and my life. I am here because of them.
My children, having been born through the marriage of a Tennessee girl to an Egyptian man, have an even wider story to tell. Their stories will be vastly different from my own, as their heritage reaches back to the most ancient of lands.
Yet, whether our stories are similar or vastly different, we are all caught up in the larger worldwide story of the King, who gave up His heavenly throne to dress as a common man, entering history for our sake. The day is soon to come when He will return to reign and rule in fullness and to complete the plan of the Father to restore all things to that beautiful state. This is not only the story we are a part of but the one we need to share with others.
Satan would love nothing better than to keep us fragmented by deceptive clips and distorted shorts. He wants us to forget the true narrative and be separated from the God who loves us so. Don’t let him distract you.
You are in a story—the greatest story—and it’s worth telling.
Grace and Peace
If you missed the last Wednesday Wisdom, click HERE, or check out these posts on history and the greatest story ever told: We Have a History of Forgetting God, Man Forgets Past Events, Broken Levies, Names of Places Remembered, Perspective, and Why is there so Much Evil?
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