For those who weren't raised Christian, many people have heard nothing accurate about the Bible. I found myself wondering how I would introduce the Bible in one line, speaking to someone who knew nothing (or nothing honest) about it. I think I might start here:
If a book ends with a wedding, it's a love story.
The Bible ends with a wedding between God and his "bride" -- his people. Throughout, there's a wedding theme. Israel saw the Sinai covenant as something like wedding vows. The prophets spoke of their chasing after idols as a kind of unfaithfulness, again assuming the context of a wedding. Jesus spoke of himself as the bridegroom, and again spoke of the final celebration at the end of time as a wedding feast. Even in the tricky-to-interpret final book of the Bible, it's plain enough that it is a wedding celebration, and the husband has prepared a beautiful home for his bride.
It's ultimately a story about how God loves the world, and gives us life.
Regardless whether you see Genesis' creation scenes as mythical / symbolic or historical, it starts with God loving the world, giving it life, and giving people his blessing. Regardless whether you see Revelation as symbolic, metaphoric, or spoiler alerts to the future, it ends with God loving the world, giving it life, healing our hurts and giving people his blessing. It speaks of this in terms of a wedding: God is all-in.
And it's something that would be good for me to remember about the Bible, too: It ends with a wedding; it's a love story.
2 comments:
An aquaintance, who claimed unbelief, remarked, years ago: "Don't read that book. The leading character gets killed." He eventually became a believer and a pastor.
Nice. :)
Take care & God bless
Anne / WF
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