What would you say if someone asked you, “So tell me, what
is the Bible? Why is it so important for Christians?”
You might tell them that the Bible is a collection of
ancient religious experiences that are meant for personal inspiration and
encouragement. Or, you might explain that the Bible is sort of an “instruction
book” for life, providing us with clear directions for the flourishing and
fulfillment that we were made for. Or, you might insist that the Bible is full
of timeless truths about God and humanity that we must believe in order to be
accepted by God.
The problem with each of these answers is that they
ultimately claim that the Bible is about us. One stresses that the Bible is
about our experiences, another about our morality, another about our beliefs.
But they all stress that the Bible at its most foundational level is about
human beings and the whole complex of their engagement with God and the
world. Yet the most deeply resonant claim
of the Scriptures that spans the whole breadth of its pages is that “salvation
comes from the Lord,” (Jonah 3:9), a claim that suggests that the Bible is not
finally about us and what we must do, believe or experience, but about what God
has done, how God has acted, and who God has revealed himself to be through the
person of Jesus Christ.
So what is the Bible? I am claiming here that the Bible is
ultimately a story about God the Father who from all eternity is sending the
Son into the world in the power of the Holy Spirit to save and restore a broken
creation. But this is no ordinary storybook. First, this story is a true
telling of reality. It is impossible to read this story without recognizing
that its claims are not mere fantasy, but it is offering a subversive and
oftentimes devastating interpretation of actual world history. Second, when we
read this story, and when the Spirit meets us in our quiet listening to its
pages, we discover that in reading the story of this God we also discover our
own story in the process. We are invited to participate, called to become a
part of this redemptive story of creation, following in the steps of God our
Savior who has rescued us from darkness and now sends us out to tell the story
of his coming Kingdom.
© 2005, Corey Widmer.
For any of you contrarians out there who refuse to watch
"24" because everyone else is
watching it, here is some friendly advice. When Monday night rolls back around, put down the obscure CD review you
are reading, sit down with someone whose company you can abide (perhaps another
contrarian), and watch it. It is
exciting. You will be pulled in. Resistance is futile.
Recent Comments