Key Verse:
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
(Hebrews 4:12)
Central Truth:
God’s word is not just history. It is His Story. You have a huge role to play in that Story. A role that is bigger than you can imagine.
A STORY FOR THE AGES
“A Story. An Epic.
Something hidden in the ancient past.
Something dangerous now unfolding.
Something waiting in the future for us to discover.
Some crucial role for us to play.
Christianity, in its true form, tells us that there is an Author and that he is good, the essence of all that is good and beautiful and true, for he is the source of all these things. It tells us that he has set our hearts’ longings within us, for he has made us to live in an Epic. It warns that the truth is always in danger of being twisted and corrupted and stolen from us because there is a Villain in the Story who hates our hearts and wants to destroy us. It calls us up into a Story that is truer and deeper than any other, and assures us that there we will find the meaning of our lives.”
- John Eldredge, Epic
God is writing a Story. A story of love and betrayal, good and evil, life and death. A thriller. A romance. An adventure. And you have an epic, crucial role that only you can play. You are part of His Story.
Don’t believe me? Pick up a Bible. Now open it. Where to? It doesn’t really matter. Just start reading anywhere. The word of God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8); so that means your story is in there. Really, it is.
· Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. Maybe your trouble isn’t with food (or maybe it is), but every one of us knows what it’s like to be seduced and tempted by something that seems so sweet it can’t possibly be wrong, only to find out after we’ve tasted it that we were wrong, and we spend tons of energy and time trying to cover ourselves up.
· A woman was caught in adultery and brought to Jesus by a bunch of “holier-than-thou” religious folks who were so stuck in tradition that they wouldn’t know Grace if it was standing in front of them (which, by the way, it was). Maybe your story is that you’ve actually been caught in adultery. Maybe you’ve done it, but haven’t gotten caught. Or maybe, just maybe, your heart says that she should have been stoned. Either way, none of us are without sin. And how many times has Jesus said to you to “go and sin no more”?
· Jesus is crucified. Yeah, your story is here too. Do you mock Jesus as He hangs on the cross? Are you the one hammering in the nails? Are you the mother watching your child die? Like it or not, we are all in that story.
God’s word is real and relevant -from before the beginning of time up until today. And you can bet it will still be “living and active” tomorrow. It will teach you everything you need to know, and it will tell you everything you ever wanted to know (or not know) about your heart - which, after all, is the source of your life (Proverbs 4:23) and where your story resides.
You are part of a grand story that the King of the Universe, the one true Author is writing. Go play your part.
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