“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!” Psalm 119:1-3 ESV
All through its pages, the Bible is weaving a tale that surpasses time, giving us guidance for the road of life. This story of God’s Word is not just good advice but it is real, true living words for living people. It is the story of us: we are broken and need to be redeemed. Because we can’t do this life on our own, we need the Redeemer and transformer of lives, Jesus Christ.
Over this Epic Story series, we’ve seen Adam and Eve driven out of paradise never to return which is the early struggle of humanity, informing how we interact with God and each other for centuries. We see the evil line of Cain building monuments to themselves and their pride, hating God in great contrast to the new son, Seth, who seeks to honor God.
Throughout the epic story of the Bible, we see men and women struggle with the question: will it be my way or God’s way?
We see this same question in our lives today! Every day I struggle to give up my destructive, selfish choices for God’s perfect loving plan, and every day I am reminded that this is not a new struggle.
Despite our best human efforts, ingenuity does not translate to humanity’s maturity in dealing with one another. Corruption overcomes Creation, and God has to reboot and start over with the one righteous man left, Noah, and his family. God gave a new Covenant and a people to work with and through, and we see this pattern repeated as our sins are nailed on the cross.
The greatest philosophers in the world cannot match God’s Truth. Emptiness cannot fill our need for real spiritual nourishment that can only come from our Lord and his Word. Do not listen to the lies that the Bible is out-of-date or insufficient for modern people. The Bible is God’s inspired word and he gives us a beautiful, overarching, compelling storyline to see from Old Testament to New Testament. We get to see God work through all of human history and we know that he works in us today as well.
The Bible is unified in stories and characters that all point to Jesus Christ.
Every person and event in the Bible is part of God’s story of love toward humanity and grace for us.
The Bible is our story. The Bible gives us hope and confidence because it reminds us of how great God is and what he has done and will do. It shows us God’s perfect plan and reminds us that he is ultimately in control of all things.
Is there a Biblical character who you particularly identify with? Why, and how can God use that example to teach you today?