Stories to Share

“After three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days” Galatians 1:18.

Paul’s fifteen day visit intrigues me to no end.  One of the men was personally called by Jesus and walked with Him daily for three years.  The other man was rescued by Christ Jesus and spent the next three years learning from Him. ‘I want you to know…that the gospel I preached...I did not receive it from any man…rather I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ’ Galatians 1:11.  What is intriguing to me is that they both learned under the tutelage of Jesus – one in the flesh and the other in the Spirit.  The message was the same and the impact on each was life altering.  What must their conversations have been over those fifteen days?  I would imagine Paul would have wanted to know the physical man of Jesus.  I can just hear them comparing the different testimonies of how they were called.  Did they discuss their future ministries and how different those ministries would be? 

If it were me, my fifteen days would have been saturated with questions about the man of Jesus.  What did He laugh at?  Tell me the tender moments between Him and those He healed.  What was experienced the first time He was seen after the resurrection?  My questions would have gone on and on…

I remember when I started going more deeply with Jesus I looked to my grandmother for answers about Him.  She had been following in deep love and fellowship with Him since she was 16.  By the time I was walking out my intimacy with Christ she was nearing 98 years old and had some cognitive challenges.  Many times since her death my spirit has experienced some sadness regarding the missed opportunities…the additional talks we could have had about God…stories about their shared accomplishments. 

Whatever Paul and Peter talked about it was meant to be private since it is not written in the Holy Writ.  But this I know, we all have a story about our encounters with Jesus even if it hasn’t been revealed to us yet.  Our Father desires to know each and every one of us personally and to experience deep love and fellowship with Him.  Whether we have known Him for some time or whether He appears to us on a road leading in the opposite direction, we will all have a story to share.