We all love a good story. Reading and imagining what has been penned on paper. Maybe your not the novel/book type. I enjoy a good novel, but I do not always. In primary school my teacher noted I always opted for the 'factual' books, never for the stories. If not in a novel, we can enjoy it in a movie, a song, a picture, a conversation.
In December I finally decided to begin something I've wanted to do for a very long time; to read God's Word cover to cover, the whole way through. To read His Word as 'one story'. I'm not writing to tell you I've made it through. That would be an accomplishment, I've only read Genesis and a small part of Exodus. I'm a big fan of the Old Testament and have been for a long while. Some think the Old Testament isn't as relevant as the New Testament, I'm not so sure that is true, but I understand how people can draw that conclusion. I love the stories and the instruction of the New Testament. The more I read the OT the more I see its value, its stories and its instruction into my walk with God.
The Old Testament is the story of how we were created, fell and God's plan to redeem us. We just like those of OT are sinful, we have the choice to live for God or against Him. Acting against Him, leads to judgement. And if we chose to live for Him, we will fail often and are dependent on God's grace. We serve the same good and mighty God! There is much that can be learned from the OT. When I began I was worried I'd read over the many stories with familiarity. I did not want just to glance over it. I prayed to be able to meditate upon phrases and themes appreciating them and seeing their significance. This post testifies to being able to seeing new things in OT passages I've been familiar with since childhood. There is much to see in the stories of the OT. If you stray away from it...do take time to read them! You will be surprised with what all you will find.
Its class that God chose to write so many stories, that join to tell the one story of the Bible. The story thats purpose is to show the need for salvation, through faith in Jesus who came to save His children. The OT is part of that story, just like the New Testament.
There is so much beauty to behold in the stories. In the story you can imagine yourself in the situation. You can feel the fear of threats, the stress of the situation, you feel the joy of a hero winning or a plan succeeding. You can empathise or criticise a character. You seek out truth in the story and in yourself. You identify with the story, you stop and think about your own life, because our own lives are stories in progress. I am so thankful to a God who has written stories full of truth in the Bible. God's story to us, is the power to salvation and to faith.
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