Living "His Story"

The more and more I dig into the Bible the more and more I realize the Bible is NOT a very safe book. In fact, it is a pretty “dangerous” book. Unless you’re just reading superficially and for pleasure, even simple stories like David and Goliath, Joseph’s coat of many colors or Jesus healing little children, it can still be pretty un-safe

You see, even the simple “children’s stories” are there to tell us of God’s bigger purpose—that is to rescue sinful and broken people who are dearly loved by our God who gave his Son Jesus to show grace, mercy forgiveness and love. The overall goal of the stories of the Bible is for us to see beyond Jesus and to begin to see ourselves in the story. It is for us to see ourselves in God’s big story.

Some years ago a Bible teacher make this connection, one that makes a great deal of sense as far as I am concerned. That is that “my story” is “our story” in “God’s story.” That is to say that my story is ultimately, at some level, the story of every human being. And our collective story makes sense only in the contest of His (God’s) Story. The message of the big story, God’s big story, is not some doctrinal proclamation. It is not some theological treatise for preachers and seminary professors to debate. Finally, God’s big story (His – story) is the unfolding of God’s greater purposes for the beloved of his creation, you and me, made in his own image, out of his own imagination of us.

The task of Bible study, the goal of devotions and Bible reading is to find ourselves in the story of God’s grace, love, mercy, forgiveness and ultimately in the life giving death and resurrection of Jesus. Our goal is to connect with the Jesus who is the culmination of God’s redemptive plan.

To carry it one step further, the goal of outreach and invitation (sometimes called “evangelism” is to invite people into the God story, into the story of Jesus, into our shared story of being the blessed and redeemed of God. It is to challenge folks to see themselves in light of Jesus, The Good Shepherd or Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life. When we (and others around us) are able to find themselves in the middle of the story of salvation, there is no doubt they will find a new meaning and purpose of the “dangerous” story of following Jesus.

Of course, our world sends a different message. Our world wants to give us the option of leaving God out so that we can pursue “life on our own”, that we can be “in charge of our own destiny.” It is easy to engage our world’s story because it is safe; it leaves us in control.

People of God, on the other hand, are called into His story, the bigger story of God, to be shaped by God, redeemed by His love and to live where true joy and hope reigns. That feels like a more “dangerous” place to be.

As people of God, then we engage the story. We connect ourselves to God’s story. Live out what Jesus has modeled. And, in the end, God will write the final chapters, chapters of victory and renewal, redemption and resurrection.