Last time out I meant to talk about the three realities to which the Bible bears witness, those three being the reality of this God, this story, and this people. I only touched on the first of the three, so to the next one I shall now turn.
The Reality of This Story
The Bible tells a story. How often to we think of that? Moreover, it tells the story, in which all other mini-stories find themselves. The Bible isn't exhaustive in its telling of the story, but it places all of creation into a grand narrative. And so when we read Scripture, we are tapping into a story which has a beginning, a middle, and an end. A story with heroes and villains, climaxes and low-points, joy and suffering, all of which form a part of human history.
But more than the Bible being a record of human history, it is a glimpse into the mind of the storyteller, who alone can tell us what it is all about. The story is based on a worldview -- Jehovah's worldview -- and explains the way things are, why they are so, and what they ultimately will be. Therefore in the Bible we find answers to our deepest questions: Where are we? Who are we? What's gone wrong? What is the solution?
Where are we? We are on planet earth, which is part of the good creation of the living, personal God known as YHWH.
Who are we? We are unique creatures - unique because we are made in the image of God, and thus have spiritual and moral capacities, and consequently, responsibilities.
What's gone wrong? In wanting to be gods, we have broken our communion with the one true God. We have distanced ourselves from Him, and we now portray distorted images of our Creator, choosing to live life with a "clear conscience" by exchanging reality for unreality, thus suppressing the truth.
What is the solution? The problem is distance from God, so the solution must be nearness. We cannot and do not want to get near to God ourselves, and so God has promised to get near to us. He chose Israel to be His instrument for righting the wrongs of creation, and He has acted throughout history to bring this promise to fulfillment and consummation.
Our lives are caught up in this story. How do we know? Because we are caught up in this reality which the Bible confronts us with. The reality of broken creatures living lives as if YHWH doesn't exist. Christians and non-Christians alike are capable of this, but in our clearer moments we know that something is awry. The deepest parts of our being point to the reality of Scripture's story and Scripture's God, but at the point we are faced with a decision, not unlike this one: the blue pill or the red pill, the truth of the lie.
People say that Christianity is a crutch, or it is the opiate for the masses. I say they are mistaken (then again, I would). Christianity deals with (or at least should deal with) reality as it truly is, with all of its brokenness and sin. It is not the escape to a happier world, but the participation in the renewal of the one we have, the participation in missio Dei. This is the metanarrative disclosed in God's Word to us; this is the driving force behind mission; this is reality.
The Reality of This Story
The Bible tells a story. How often to we think of that? Moreover, it tells the story, in which all other mini-stories find themselves. The Bible isn't exhaustive in its telling of the story, but it places all of creation into a grand narrative. And so when we read Scripture, we are tapping into a story which has a beginning, a middle, and an end. A story with heroes and villains, climaxes and low-points, joy and suffering, all of which form a part of human history.
But more than the Bible being a record of human history, it is a glimpse into the mind of the storyteller, who alone can tell us what it is all about. The story is based on a worldview -- Jehovah's worldview -- and explains the way things are, why they are so, and what they ultimately will be. Therefore in the Bible we find answers to our deepest questions: Where are we? Who are we? What's gone wrong? What is the solution?
Where are we? We are on planet earth, which is part of the good creation of the living, personal God known as YHWH.
Who are we? We are unique creatures - unique because we are made in the image of God, and thus have spiritual and moral capacities, and consequently, responsibilities.
What's gone wrong? In wanting to be gods, we have broken our communion with the one true God. We have distanced ourselves from Him, and we now portray distorted images of our Creator, choosing to live life with a "clear conscience" by exchanging reality for unreality, thus suppressing the truth.
What is the solution? The problem is distance from God, so the solution must be nearness. We cannot and do not want to get near to God ourselves, and so God has promised to get near to us. He chose Israel to be His instrument for righting the wrongs of creation, and He has acted throughout history to bring this promise to fulfillment and consummation.
Our lives are caught up in this story. How do we know? Because we are caught up in this reality which the Bible confronts us with. The reality of broken creatures living lives as if YHWH doesn't exist. Christians and non-Christians alike are capable of this, but in our clearer moments we know that something is awry. The deepest parts of our being point to the reality of Scripture's story and Scripture's God, but at the point we are faced with a decision, not unlike this one: the blue pill or the red pill, the truth of the lie.
People say that Christianity is a crutch, or it is the opiate for the masses. I say they are mistaken (then again, I would). Christianity deals with (or at least should deal with) reality as it truly is, with all of its brokenness and sin. It is not the escape to a happier world, but the participation in the renewal of the one we have, the participation in missio Dei. This is the metanarrative disclosed in God's Word to us; this is the driving force behind mission; this is reality.
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