“There is properly no history, only biography,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it’s true. Sure, there have been events, movements, and statistics. But all of those events, movements, and statistics exist because of the people who formed them and participated in them. Perhaps that’s why God gave us not an overview of salvation history but a life-by-life account of its major events and themes. The story of his people is the story of . . . well, actual people.
That’s true for your story too, you know. You may tend to see his kingdom as a global movement or a one-day prophecy, but it’s much more personal than that. It’s not an abstract principle. It’s the story of lives, including yours. That makes every person significant, every choice meaningful, every job important, and every relationship lasting. We aren’t dealing simply in theories and beliefs. We’re building lives.
Never lose sight of that. The kingdom of God is about lives, not principles. It changes hearts, not groups. Yes, there are collective elements; the body of Christ has many members who are meant to live and move as parts of the whole. But the whole doesn’t exist without the parts, and every part is significant. Your story and the stories of those around you are vital elements in human history and the eternal kingdom. Live with the awareness that everything—every aspect of the story, even on this particular day—is sacred.
