A Story for the Ages

I run into a lot of people who know a little bit about the Bible...and in most cases they have little use for it, or for the Christian Church that purports to be about it...and I also run into a few people who know little or nothing about the Bible, and--irony of ironies--these people are often very faithful Christians...(all of which goes to show you that you don't need to know how to read in order to be a Christian...in fact, that may be a detriment!)

Christianity as a religion does not really need a Bible, but it does need a story--and the most popular Christian story is something like this: God made a perfect world, humans screwed it up, God re-made it by sending Jesus to die for humans who screw it up, and now humans should try harder not to screw it up again...at this point some Christians add "if you do a good job you can go some place nice named heaven." As a religion goes that story works, but of course, it is not from the Bible.

The story of the Bible is a whole different one than the popular Christian one (no matter how much money or energy some folks put into making it the same), and the story of the Bible is a story for the ages. Because you see the Bible, as the promise of God about the freedon given in Jesus Christ through the mutual consolations and conversations of people in the Spirit, has no quick "summary-like" statements because it always addresses the reader (hearer) where they are in life and the world. And since we are often different, the Bible speaks different things in order to keep God's promise to us...because for the Bible it's the God who promises that makes the story, not the story that makes the god...and for those of us who trust in God that makes all the difference in the world. May your tables be full, and your conversations be true.