Three ways to make our testimonies special

With desperation and sincerity, as if it were your last words...

This is a true story that happened when a girl and her family were being taken to Auschwitz Concentration Camp during World War II. 

In a train heading to the concentration camp, I saw my one and only younger brother, who was 8 years old, standing absent-mindedly with one barefoot because he lost his other shoe. I got angry at him and yelled, 

“You’re worthless….Why can’t you even take care of one shoe?”

Oh, God!! Who could have known that those words would be my last words to my dear beloved brother? 

She was separated from her brother in Auschwitz Concentration Camp, and in the end, he did not come out of there alive. Even though she miraculously escaped from the concentration camp, she lost both her parents and her younger brother. She was agonizing about it with the pain that penetrated deep into her bones and caused her to endlessly gnash her teeth. However, she made up her mind to never repeat the same mistake again,

“No matter who it is, I will not say things to others that make me feel ashamed because those words could be the last words that I ever say to them.”

With our own stories, in a unique and excellent way... 

We met on campus on a day when the fragrance of the lilac flowers was in the air.

We walked in the rain because we liked it and we walked in the snow because we liked it.

We sat together in an empty coffee shop while facing each other and scribbling things all night long. 

Our stories are as countless as the stars in the sky at night,

but I will not forget no matter what, even though the stories leave like a gust of wind. 

– Yoon Hyung-ju (From Our Story)

There was once a boy. His dream was to be a missionary. However, he could not figure out whether or not divine beings existed at all, so he started to deny their existence and lived going wherever his body and heart led him. As time passed, he had thoughts of entering a Buddhist temple to become a monk when he got old in the future. However, this boy came to meet a surprising encounter on a campus where the fragrance of lilac flowers was in the air. 

He walked in the rain with the One he met. He conversed with Him all night long while walking in the snow. The boy’s stories--as many as the countless stars in the night sky--became the stories of amazing love and thanksgiving, which are engraved deep into his soul. He will always remember them wherever he goes. My story is a unique and creative story that only I know. In other words, it is a story that only I myself can deliver the most vividly. We should be able to testify with our own stories in a unique and excellent way.

Change it into a story for the audience... 

A big restaurant near one of the subway stations faced a problem because people were illegally parking their bicycles in front of it, which interfered with the restaurant’s business. Even though they posted a huge sign that read, “No parking,” it was ineffective. They changed the sign to a sincere message begging people “Please, do not park here,” but the bicycles continued to be parked there. Then, they got an idea and wrote a new sign that read, “The bicycles that are parked here are free to take.” After that, no one illegally parked their bicycles there. 

We can tell our stories sincerely, creatively and confidently to others. However, instead of delivering those stories well from our own perspective, we should deliver it from the audience’s perspective so that they cannot help but be engaged while listening to our stories. Our stories come to life when we explain how our stories will impact people's lives, so that they can ultimately see how our stories are beneficial to their lives.   

Jesus said, “I must stay at your house today,” to Zacchaeus who had climbed high up a sycamore-fig tree. He asked, “Where are your husbands?” to a Samaritan woman who had five husbands. He told Peter, “Throw your net away and follow me,” at the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The Word Jesus spoke should be transformed into new word for this time period and delivered to people, such as Mr. Hong Gil-dong in Seoul, Mr. Danaka in Tokyo, and Dr. Wang-ming in Taipei, while addressing their current position--whether they are living with unsatisfactory futile values or whether they have a net that they must completely throw away in their own lives. 

Someone once said that our body consists of molecules, but our life consists of stories. Since his* story was so earnest and passionate, it became my story and also other people’s stories. In the end, our numerous stories will become the story of the world, which is what defines history. (Translator’s note: Pastor Jung Myeong Seok’s)

Therefore, tell your stories to the end of the earth without holding back and hesitating. The stories we tell someone could be the last words that we ever deliver.