Would you like to understand God's Word in a new and inspiring light? Do you see the Bible's as a series of seemingly disconnected stories, with little relevance to your life? Or do you see the Bible for what it really is... one grand, unfolding timeless epic—God's story from Genesis onward and “your own story”, contained within it?
Sometimes in our reading and study of the Bible we hit a plateau. We need to find within ourselves a new and energizing source of vision to see what God is speaking to us. How can you find this new energy in your study of God’s Word?
You need to stop just reading the words on the page, thinking of the stories as ancient, historical and maybe even mythical, and start absorbing them as real and timeless, as if the people lived next door to you... in the now! Absorb the thoughts and ideals – the stories God is using to speak to you, like a sponge. STOP wringing yourself out, like you do a sponge when you think its full. Let God’s Word... absorb, integrate, blend-in to the fabric of your own spirit. Think of the person you’ve reading about, the ideals, the principles, the law, the command, and make it personal. You can even rename the person “with your own name” as you read the stories, to make it even more real and personal. It’s YOU God is speaking to! Lower your guard and allow yourself to connect with His words at a deeply personal intimate level. You won’t hear actual audible words spoken, but you will begin to sense a new layer of understanding and comprehension being revealed to you as you pour yourself into the very Word of God. Here’s what I mean...
To understand the Bible, you need bifocal lenses... the top part of your lenses [macro] for distance and the bottom [micro] for closeup vision. There are two perspectives being presented in God’s Word – one macro, one micro. The micro story, is really our own story lived in relationship to the many stories of men and women interacting with God in the daily course of their lives. Not much has changed throughout human history... our story of a life lived in striving to please God today, is not much different that it was 3,000 years ago. The question for you to consider is this... are you immersed in the stories God uses to teach you, revealing his character and attributes, or are you detached and distant from the story?
The macro story is God’s story. It’s the inspired telling of his great, overarching purpose to rescue mankind from the curse of sin and restore us to righteousness. It’s a fabulously intricate story of what happens to mankind left on their own, separated from God by sin, suffering from imperfection and death and unable to care for themselves. God’s grand masterpiece, the ultimate rescue and restoration plan of the ages, the Bible, blends all the individual stories of man’s trails and tribulations together like panels in one unified mural. The Bible is the story of the God of grace—the God who speaks; the God who acts; the God who listens; the God whose love for his creation culminated in his sacrifice of Jesus, his only Son, to atone for the sins of humanity.
His overarching story should bring us to tears, often. We should be so immersed in His grand epic that we cannot help but want to see ourselves woven and meshed together with our ancient brethren who struggled to live their lives in accord with His ways and means. I use the word “brethren” here to describe our present day connection to those who trusted and believed in God thousands of years ago even though they had limited revelation of his grand epic. Believers today have it all... the grand epic of God fully revealed by his power, holiness, righteousness, faithfulness to His promises, his love for mankind, Jesus the Christ, the Cross and the Resurrection that opens the doorway to redemption, salvation and eternal life!
Put yourself squarely in the Bible’s stories. Don’t sit along side and just be a passive reader, get involved. Walk down the road to Emmaus and feel the emotions of those three men as their hearts burned for the risen Lord. Journey with Abraham and his clan as he trusted God enough to head “that way towards the unknown...” Walk with Paul on his mission travels, imagine sitting with him in a candle lit room, as Holy inspiration took hold of him and he was compelled by the Spirit to write God’s Word. Just imagine talking with him, he asking you what you think, about the principles and ideals that would become his messages to the Corinthians! The people of the Bible were real people, just like us. Their stories, both good and bad, are given to us by God in love to teach, to inspire, to edify, to encourage, to transform us. Walk with these people. Talk to them in your mind and heart. Identify with their struggles, their fears, their sins, their stubbornness and the gentle nurturing by the Spirit of God to obedient faithfulness.
When you read the Word of God with an immersive passion, placing yourself in the midst of of the stories, you will find your knowledge and understanding of the Bible growing, by leaps and bounds. You will find yourself submitting, conforming, changing, becoming what the Holy Spirit, our helper, seeks to do in all believers... to transform us into the likeness of Christ.
2 Timothy 3:16 says... “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” This verse tells us that God inspired all Scripture and that it is profitable to us. It is not just the parts of the Bible that deal with doctrines that are inspired, but each and every word of His grand story from Genesis to Revelation.
Be inspired. Place yourself in the big picture... to see how your day-to-day personal story intersects with God’s grand, overarching epic of everlasting redemption. Immerse yourself personally in the stories, connect with the ancient people of God and see what happens to your knowledge, your understanding, your wisdom, and your love for God. The Bible, along with the working of the Holy Spirit, has the supernatural ability to change us and make us “complete.”
Your journey of faith will come alive as you explore the divine story through the Old and New Testaments, immersing yourself in the rich characters, and discovering how the Bible reveals God’s plan for your life today.
