For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”

These two sentences from 2 Chronicles could fairly accurately sum up the entirety of the Old Testament. They are pretty on point thematically for the New Testament, as well, as Jesus said he came to proclaim liberty to the captives and repeatedly issued the invitation to turn and follow him. When Max Lucado condensed the 66 books of the Bible into one narrative volume, he summarized the overarching plot as, “God goes to great lengths to rescue lost and hurting people.” In this pursuit and rescue, we see God’s mercy (his forgiveness of sin and withholding of punishment) and his grace (the gift of his unmerited favor).

As we read through the Bible, we see story after story of imperfect people pursued, redeemed, and used in mighty ways by a gracious and merciful God. King Hezekiah, the speaker in today’s passage, was one such person. Sandwiched in between two evil kings–his father, Ahaz, and his son, Manasseh–Hezekiah is described as one of the few kings of Judah who “did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God” (2 Chronicles 31:20).

Though Hezekiah spoke the words of today’s verse under very specific circumstances as Assyria was poised to conquer Judah like it already had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, the promise he makes to his people is based on God’s unchanging character. Think of some of the most epic stories in the Bible: Moses and the Exodus, Jonah going to Nineveh, and ultimately, Jesus on the cross. In all of these, we see God going to great lengths to rescue lost and hurting people. We see that he was gracious and merciful in the past, and we are assured that when we turn to him, we will find him to be every bit as gracious and merciful today.

God could have given us a list of his attributes, a series of rules, and step-by-step instructions for entering his kingdom. But he didn’t. Instead, he gave us stories. Stories resonate with us in a way lists do not. Author and speaker Dan Taylor said, “If faith were primarily an idea, the intellect alone might be adequate for dealing with it. Since it is instead a life to be lived, we need story. Story, as does life, engages all of what we are — mind, emotions, spirit, body. Faith calls us to live in a certain way, not just to think in a certain way.”

An article from Harvard puts it this way: “storytelling forges connections among people, and between people and ideas…[Stories] build familiarity and trust, and allow the listener to enter the story where they are, making them more open to learning. Good stories can contain multiple meanings so they’re surprisingly economical in conveying complex ideas in graspable ways.”

Through the wealth of narratives found in the Bible, we become acquainted with God’s attributes, learn his ways, and discover the Way to eternal life. And here’s the thing–the story isn’t over! While the Biblical canon is closed, the story of God going to great lengths to rescue lost and hurting people continues on. You may never have fought a giant or survived a fiery furnace, but if you’re a Christian, you have a story of God meeting you with grace and mercy when you turned to him.

Your story is a powerful part of God’s big story. Like we read earlier, your story can forge connections between people and ideas, build familiarity and trust, and make people more open to learning. Your story can help your neighbors and friends grasp the complex ideas we’ve looked at in this series–sin, separation from God, God’s love, and God’s grace–in graspable ways. If you’re not sure what your story is, you can start by thinking in terms of God’s story. Can you find yourself in the narrative of God going to great lengths to rescue lost and hurting people?

Identify a time you were lost or hurting. Describe God’s pursuit of you, the great lengths he went to for your rescue. As you turned to him, how did you experience his grace and mercy? That’s your story. It may not involve a literal lion’s den or fire from Heaven. But those kinds of spectacular events might not resonate with your friends the way the more mundane, everyday struggles of your life do. You can share your whole life story when the opportunity presents itself, but you can also share the bite-sized pieces and subplots of your story in everyday conversations. How are you experiencing God’s grace today? Who can you tell about it?

My good, gracious and merciful God, thank you for your pursuit of me. I was separated from you. I was your enemy. But you loved me. Help me to see this rescue for the epic tale that it is. I know there are lost and hurting people all around me who need to experience your mercy and grace. Holy Spirit, use me and the narrative you are weaving in my life to invite them into the roles you have prepared for them in your big story. Through your power and for your glory, Lord, amen.