If you were to ask Vincent Van Gogh about his life story, you would either get a complex answer or a picture like ‘The Starry Night’. He was the son of a pastor and wanted to become a minister but his complicated road led him instead to serve God through artistic expression, as he said: ‘to try to understand the real significance of what the great artists, the serious masters, tell us in their masterpieces, that leads to God. One man wrote or told it in a book, another in a picture’. Suffering poor mental health, he died in 1890 aged just 37, but his belief was that ‘Christ alone, of all the philosophers … has affirmed eternal life as the most important certainty, the infinity of time, the futility of death, the necessity and purpose of serenity and devotion. He lived serenely, as an artist greater than all other artists, scorning marble and clay and paint, working in the living flesh’. Like many of us, Van Gogh’s story contains faith and pain.
There are those who love to tell their story and there are those who seldom do. When the motive is all about self-promotion, it can become tiresome but when a person is sharing something that matters to them, usually a fellow human gives that opportunity and takes an interest.
It’s natural to do this among friends and with those we are wanting to get to know better. It can feel awkward to ‘open up’ with those we don’t know. When Jesus told his story to people he met, he didn’t tell everything straight away – first he perceived who he was with, interacting with them in their situation and then revealed things about himself. He didn’t launch into his identity as ‘the Son of God’ or his mission to save people from sin through dying on the cross – but he did share his story and calls us to do the same. Those who follow Jesus become caught up in his story. Wherever we are on our journey to, with or away from Jesus, it’s good to reflect on it and share with someone else to encourage them or to be encouraged by them. We are called to share life.
- ‘Everybody has their own story; everybody has their own journey’ – Thalia
- ‘There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you’ – Maya Angelou
- ‘If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story’ – Orson Welles
- ‘I hope I didn’t bore you too much with my life story’ – Elvis Presley
Selling over 500 million records, the life of Elvis influenced millions – his songs and his story still touch people. Church was a big part of his upbringing and the ‘Gospel’ themes were in much of his music. Despite his early death aged just 42, he stated his ambition this way: ‘All I want is to know the truth, to know and experience God. I’m a searcher, that’s what I’m all about’. Searching for truth is something we all do – it is the common human condition, even that of the man who handed Jesus over to death:
- ‘”Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”’ – John 18:37-39
- ‘Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’ – John 8:32
- ‘I am the way and the truth and the life’ – John 14:6
- ‘Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you’ – Mark 5:19
When was the last time you shared your story? What are the key events you would include if you were to try to keep it to less than three minutes? If you’ve never done it, try writing it out, reading it with a friend or take a video to play back and refine! Imagine a world where every follower of Jesus shared their story with others, not just once but over and over again (even by a pre-recorded video). If you are listening to his voice and following truth, you are one of millions with a story to share. Remember that Jesus shared his life story with us so we could share it with others – ‘Therefore Go!’ and he promised to be with you in the going and the sharing (Matthew 28: 18-20) … no gloss, just the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It seems that this was Van Gogh’s goal too as initially he wanted to study theology, but failing the seminary entrance exam, he instead became a missionary to coal miners in Belgium.