The One Story

I recently began reading The Drama of Scripture, by Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen. This is a wonderfully helpful book that not only tells the story of the Bible, but helps us to see our place in the story the Scriptures are telling.

I especially like this passage from the book:

“The Bible is not a mere jumble of history, poetry, lessons in morality and theology, comforting promises, guiding principles and commands; instead, it is fundamentally coherent. Every part of the Bible–each event, book, character, command, prophecy, and poem–must be understood in the context of the one story line.”

The authors go on to say:

“Many of us have read the Bible as if it were merely a mosaic of little bits–theological bits, moral bits, historical-critical bits, sermon bits, devotional bits. But when we read the Bible in such a fragmented way, we ignore its divine author’s intention to shape our lives through its story.”

Wow! They hit the nail right on the head. How many of us read the Bible as if it were simply a book of morals, stories, and poems, but never see it as the beautiful, One Story that it is? It’s one thing to read the Bible for sermon preparation, or to find that verse to prove to that person that you are right and they are wrong. It’s a whole other thing, however, to read the Bible and ask the question, “Where am I in this story?”, or “What role is God calling me to play in his ongoing story of redemption and healing for the world?”

So, how do you read the Bible?

What would it be like if we read the Bible this way?