300 Days for 300 Years: A Commemorative Devotional of the Presbytery of Philadelphia
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Rev. Abigail Visco Rusert, Director – Institute for Youth Ministry Princeton Theological Seminary, Minister Member of the Presbytery of Philadelphia

  • First Reading: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
  • Psalm 45:10-17
  • Alternate:
    • Song of Solomon 2:8-13
  • 2nd Reading: Romans 7:15-25a
  • Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

The Story of Our Lives

All it took was a story.

When we read this passage from Genesis, we tend not to focus on the fact that Abraham’s slave is telling a story. We miss the power of the story. Instead we simply receive it as a piece of Rebekah’s larger lineage-driven puzzle. But this story paints its own picture; it demonstrates an important truth: the truth that stories change lives.

A slave’s eager testimony on the outskirts of town was told not once, but twice as he courted Rebekah and her family on behalf of Isaac. Determination, exquisite planning, and attention to his potential audience paved the way for his story to be heard, his testimony to be received and for lives to be changed.

Testimony in the form of stories has the power to shape lives. What story are you telling? What stories have changed your best-laid plans? If we spend time each day telling stories and believe in their power, we just might be used by God to change another’s life!

May we posture the stories of our lives in word and act, toward the story of the One whose name will be praised from generation to generation. And may we have ears to hear afresh, even from unexpected sources, the most compelling story ever told. Amen.