The local Christian bookstore contains shelves full of Bibles in various sizes, colors, and translations, right next to more shelves of commentaries, study guides, and other resources. With so many options at our fingertips, it can be easy to forget that this second-to-none book actually contains dozens of individual writings, many of which were simply letters. Two of those letters – Luke and Acts – were written to one man’s attention, Theophilus.

I don’t think you’ll find Theophilus on a Top 1,000 Baby Names list nowadays, but apparently, it was pretty common back then. Consequently, scholars aren’t even certain who he was. Some say that he might have been a Roman official, since he is addressed very formally at the beginning of Luke. Others think he could have been a leader in the early church or perhaps just a friend Luke was trying to share his faith with. In fact, in Luke 1:4, the author explains that he is writing to help shed light on the things that Theophilus had been taught about Jesus’ time on earth. The book of Acts seems to pick up where he left off in Luke.

Regardless of how they knew each other or what Theophilus’ status was, the fact remains that Luke thought it was important enough to share his personal observations with him – and how great it is for us that we have his writings to refer to, even today! How else would we know Luke’s story if it had not been recorded, somehow? I feel sad when I read verses like Joshua 2:10 (NIV), which describes how “another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.” It makes me wonder: did the parents not pass down stories to their kids? Did no one share about all the great things that God had accomplished on their behalf? Were the stories of biblical heroes like Noah and Moses just legends to them?

From Abraham to Joshua to Malachi and pages upon pages in between, God’s people seemed to forget his goodness. As one generation died off, the next generation pleaded ignorance about the stories of God’s rescues and triumphs. It’s as if they had a mindset that since they weren’t alive during the crossing of the Jordan or when the walls of Jericho fell, then they didn’t need to bother with getting to know the God who had done miracles for their ancestors.

Let’s not be like those generations! You and I may not have the first-person perspective that someone like Luke experienced, but we still have our own faith-walk stories to share. Maybe your “Theophilus” is a friend or family member whose life is far from Christ, or perhaps they are brand-new in faith and wrestling with a lot of questions. Will you make time to share your story? If you don’t tell it, then who will?