What is the Bible All About?
When I was very little - younger than 4 - I received a Children's Bible, or maybe it was a prayer book. I remember it was large and white and I could read it. My mom was ambitious, so she taught me to read when I was two. Then she gave me books, and I stayed very busy. I took that white book with me all around the house. I read it to my younger brother. I kept it in a special spot in my bedroom. I don't know why I liked it, but I bet it was because I wanted to be like my mom. I remember her reading her Bible a lot when I was little, and as far as I was concerned, being like my mother was the ultimate goal.
At some point, that white book stayed on the shelf more and more. I still loved my book, but I suspect I graduated up to more mature kids Bibles and eventually to a Bible that included the full text. I went to church and to Sunday School. I was taught that the Bible was a guidebook for our lives. I learned to look to it for answers. Some parts really confused me. Others made a lot of sense. I had a lot of respect for the Bible, because I believed God wrote it for me.
But I was slightly mistaken. Yes, the Bible has answers. Yes, God wrote it so we could know truth. But the Bible isn't our personal guidebook. It isn't a magic 8 ball that we shake only when we want to know which way to go. The Bible also isn't a collection of really old fables meant to entertain or teach a moral lesson. The Bible isn't about us and our personal journey. It is about Christ. The Old Testament, The New Testament, the stories, the genealogies, the Law - it all points to Christ.
Timothy Keller writes in his article, The Story of the Bible: How The Good News About Jesus is Central, "It seems impossible that God could be true to himself - fully good and loving, fully righteous and just - and still save us. It seems impossible that after all we have done there should be any hope. But victory is achieved through one man's infinite sacrifice on the cross, where God both punishes sin fully yet provides free salvation, where he is revealed as both just and justifier of those who believe. Jesus stands as the ultimate protagonist, the hero of heroes."
The Bible teaches us about Jesus. He is our everything. Without Him, we are nothing. John 15:5 reads, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
In a self centered world, where our first thoughts often revolve around ourselves, let us not make the mistake of thinking the Bible is all about us. It isn't a set of stories meant to entertain. It isn't a set of promises for us to claim. It isn't our guidebook for life. While it is filled with stories, and promises, and lessons of truth, the Bible is first and foremost about Christ. Who He is. What He has done. And what He is going to do.
At some point, that white book stayed on the shelf more and more. I still loved my book, but I suspect I graduated up to more mature kids Bibles and eventually to a Bible that included the full text. I went to church and to Sunday School. I was taught that the Bible was a guidebook for our lives. I learned to look to it for answers. Some parts really confused me. Others made a lot of sense. I had a lot of respect for the Bible, because I believed God wrote it for me.
Timothy Keller writes in his article, The Story of the Bible: How The Good News About Jesus is Central, "It seems impossible that God could be true to himself - fully good and loving, fully righteous and just - and still save us. It seems impossible that after all we have done there should be any hope. But victory is achieved through one man's infinite sacrifice on the cross, where God both punishes sin fully yet provides free salvation, where he is revealed as both just and justifier of those who believe. Jesus stands as the ultimate protagonist, the hero of heroes."
The Bible teaches us about Jesus. He is our everything. Without Him, we are nothing. John 15:5 reads, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
In a self centered world, where our first thoughts often revolve around ourselves, let us not make the mistake of thinking the Bible is all about us. It isn't a set of stories meant to entertain. It isn't a set of promises for us to claim. It isn't our guidebook for life. While it is filled with stories, and promises, and lessons of truth, the Bible is first and foremost about Christ. Who He is. What He has done. And what He is going to do.
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