Allison and I recently took a day trip to Conway to join other family members to celebrate my great aunt’s 90 th birthday. She is the youngest sister of my paternal grandmother and my oldest living relative. The celebration brought together several generations from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

My great aunt has a sharp mind and a long memory. She passes on stories from our family from generations long before her. In fact, she spent many years meticulously tracing our family lineage back to Ireland. In the end, she wrote a book from her research and gave a copy to each family member. The book follows the history of our ancestors leaving Ireland and arriving in North Carolina and tells the story of subsequent generations migrating westward and finally settling down in Arkansas.

When I was in seminary, I received a letter from my great aunt. In the letter, she shared that, through her research, she discovered a couple of generations of circuit riding Methodist preachers from the 1800s. She thought it important to share that information with me. In fact, she continues to share stories with younger generations of our family. She doesn’t want us to forget our story, as well as the smaller stories that make up our family history. She sees it as a responsibility and a privilege to be the sharer of our stories. What gives “weight” to her recounts is the loving and caring relationship she has with members of her family.

As I think about her passion for sharing our family’s stories, I am reminded that each of us in the family of God have been blessed by those who have shared the story of Christ with us. The Apostle Paul wrote along these lines to the Church at Corinth; “I passed along to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and raised on the third day, just as the Scriptures said” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, NLT). Paul, a well-versed Jew in the history of his people and the Hebrew scriptures, knew that Jesus and His message was the most important story. He deeply cared for the people of the church in Corinth and wanted them to never forget their story, which was bound up in Christ’s greater story. Additionally, Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:1-2, “Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others” (NLT).  In other words, “Timothy you are privileged with the responsibility to tell others of the good news of Jesus Christ. Share that privilege with others.” The point is this: The story of the good news of Jesus Christ is never meant to stop with us. The good news comes to us on the way to someone else, as we live out our calling to be faithful witnesses for Christ.