LISTEN
REFLECT
In 2015 in a small African town, we worked with the Lolo* people group, creating an oral Bible story set with a group of believing participants. As part of the training, we invited six guests who followed the regional religion to come and listen to the stories and give feedback over four weeks. At the end of the training, the participants presented the oral Bible stories to the community. During that presentation, one of the six guests stood up. “Can I say something?” He announced to everyone in earshot, “We have been working with these people for the last month, and there is something really different about them. They have loved us and welcomed us, even though we are different religions. I can tell they really are Christians because of the love they have shown us and each other. So today, we want to tell you all that we have decided to become Christians!”
Think of someone who loves well. How do they demonstrate their love?
Jesus said in the story that people would know the disciples followed Him if they loved each other. How does Jesus’ love motivate you to love those around you?
*name changed for security reasons
JOURNAL
For a more in-depth devotional time, we suggest you listen to the story again and think through the following six questions:
- What did I like in the story?
- What did I find confusing in this story?
- What did I learn about humanity?
- What did I learn about God/Jesus/God’s Spirit?
- How can I apply this story to my life?
- Who can I tell this story to?
Written by Hera*, on behalf of the StoryRunners team