The Bible as One (Incomplete) Story

I’ve only just begun to contemplate the Bible as one story. It is an idea that has turned in my head for a long while, years I’d say. It is not an easy thing to do, consider this story of David, Miriam, Samuel, Joshua, Sarah, Paul, and Phoebe as one story. So often, we consider it their stories that we learn from.

God pursues us

The Bible is God’s story of his pursuit of us. It tells about all of these people, but only because it shows something about God himself.

If we consider the account of David and Goliath, we can learn lots from it: we have to be prepared to fight (David picked up the stones before he knew he needed them); we will have problems bigger than ourselves; our enemies may not keep their word (the Philistines ran instead of submitting, as promised). But this potential list of ‘lessons’ doesn’t tell the story as it was intended.

God longs for relationships

If this story of the Bible is one story, then it is not about David and what I can learn from him. It is about God and how he longs for us to have a relationship with him.

He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, even seeking them out after they had sinned.

He called on Cain to reign in his jealousy and anger so that he could have a relationship with him.

He saved Noah, the one man who did have a relationship with him.

He helped David overcome because he had a relationship with him. And so on.

That is what people in relationship do. They support each other.

Being in relationship

My small group recently supported one of our member’s benefit raffles for pickleball. It seems insignificant, but it was important to her, and so it was important to us.

What is important to me, is important to God. And vice versa- what is important to God is important to me. God saw that Adam was alone and created a companion, a helper (a word associated with God more than man in the Bible). So, relationships are important to him, to us.

From the start, God set out to bring us back into perfect relationship with him. We broke the relationship in the garden, but he has taken all the steps to bring us back. He has crushed the serpent’s head and re-established his kingdom here, through Jesus and with the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus and with the Holy Spirit, we are able to establish healthy relationships and live in constant communion with God himself!

The Bible and Relationship

There will always be the lessons that we see when we read the Bible. God speaks through his word, and that will include reminding you that he already knows your enemies will not hold up their end of the bargain sometimes. That should not be discounted.

But the Bible was not written to tell stories so we could be more moral or more prepared, or more anything. It was written because God wants you for himself. So, the story remains incomplete until our Lord returns. It is an open story because not all of the invitations to relationship with God have been answered. Have you responded to his invitation?

As we read the Bible, consider what kind of relationship God wants with us or between us and others.