The town of Cochrane created an amazing mural consisting of 1 foot square tiles.  Each tile is painted by various artists and has its own individual picture, yet when put together, they create this incredible composition (click here to view mural).  You can click on each of the tiles–I’d recommend starting with the horse’s eye.

This is a beautiful portrayal of the body of Christ.  As Krista shared in The Greatest Stories Ever Told, we all have our own testimonies, which paint our individual tiles.  What is beyond my comprehension is how God can take all of our tiles and put them together to create a magnificent display.

So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”  Romans 12:5-8

I’m not exactly sure who our reading audience consists of, but I’m almost certain some of you out there have been church goers since the time you were a baby. And I’m almost certain at one time or another in your church going experience you remember this little weekly event called Sunday Night Church!

I still cringe when I hear those words. Truth be told, I was never fond of Sunday night church services. Can you tell? I have very good memories of going to Sunday school in the morning and then to “Big Church.” After church I remember gathering in the lobby and playing with my friends while the parents decided where we were going for lunch that day. But by the time we got home in the afternoon, the last thing I wanted to do was turn around and head out again for church.

However, there were those few memorable moments of Sunday night church. Because of the casual atmosphere those services would lend themselves to special times—like the times we would have a guest speaker or a church member share his or her testimony. Those moments touched me.

Hearing how someone’s life was restored by our Lord, or how they had hit rock bottom and God rescued them from their horrible situation. Those stories sent chills down my spine. I even remember sitting there in my youth thinking that I should take a few years off to go and get a testimony. Then I could come back and share an exciting story of how God worked in my life.

It wasn’t until years later that thought struck me and sent me to my knees asking forgiveness. How could I have ever said those words aloud to my Savior? I felt the Lord gently whisper to me that He gives me wonderful ways to testify to His greatness everyday. I just hadn’t been looking for those moments. Conviction with a capital C!

Let’s stop and define the word “testimony.” It means to bear witness to something; to testify to something. I think sometimes as believers we think we only have one testimony (the story of how we came to know Christ), but we have several. God is always at work in a very personal way for each of us.

I can testify to God’s greatness all the time. Sure, some of my testimonies are more exciting and worth sharing than others, but they are precious stories to me. I think it’s also important to mention that testimonies happen often, but we only have one great story of how we came into a relationship with Christ.

A few years ago I worked on staff at a church in the Student Ministries Department. We helped the students draft something called, “The Second Greatest Story Ever Told.” We all know the First Greatest Story Ever Told is the Gospel of Christ, but a close second is how we came into a personal relationship with Christ.

Since we are hours away from a New Year, would you consider adding one more item to your list of goals and resolutions?  Wouldn’t it be great to start documenting your Second Greatest Story Ever Told? And maybe as you start putting your own story together, you can add to it daily testimonies of God’s work in your life. There is nothing more encouraging than looking over your life and seeing how God personally revealed Himself to you. Don’t let these divine moments slip away.

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John 4:14

• Acts 10:42-43
• 1 John 1:1-3
• 1 John 4:13-15