I’m often disappointed with kids’ Bible story books. They usually paint a sugary picture that presents the Bible as a very safe and manageable book. Often, you get a collection of pithy moralisms that you could get just as well (better, perhaps) from Aesop’s Fables.
With this posture, the Bible’s truths have lost their scandal; they don’t require a cross or resurrection or God’s kingdom. In fact, they don’t require God at all. God is on the periphery. The feeding of the 5,000 is about a boy who shares. Israel crossing over the Red Sea is about a neat leader (Moses) with a cool stick that parts water. The great parable offering God as the good Father flooding the world with generosity becomes a tale about how we’re supposed to obey our parents.
Our problem is that we’ve learned to read the Bible as a story where we’re the central characters, and so we teach our kids to read the Bible as though they’re the central characters. But this is all wrong: God is in the spotlight.
In Paul’s letter to young Timothy, he reminded his protégé to remain true to the spiritual training he had received “from the holy Scriptures [since] childhood” (2 Timothy 3:15). This teaching was centered on “salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus” and truths that are not human but are “inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:15-16).
In other words, Timothy’s mother and grandmother told him what was most essential: They told him about God. It’s easy to forget that Scripture is about Him. The Bible tells us God’s story first—and we find our truest meaning only when we find our story in God’s story.
The stories we tell our children and ourselves really do matter. Let’s tell God’s story.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 2 Kings 22:1–23:3
More:
Read 2 Timothy 3. What are the competing story lines that Timothy encounters? Who are the competing characters?
Next:
Where are you most tempted to make yourself the central character in God’s story? Why is it vital for us to recognize that God’s Word is all about Him—not us?
tom felten on April 27, 2012 at 10:23 am
Good take, Winn. Some of the most powerful moments in my spiritual journey have involved seeing Jesus actively working through someone or hearing what God had done in their lives. The living God is actively working in each of our lives. May we open our mouths and let us hear what He is done and what He is doing!
winn collier on April 27, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Tom, you strike me as exactly one of these kinds of people, telling God-stories, well and often.
GChoo on April 28, 2012 at 9:59 am
Winn, thank you for helping us to understand and the need to share our God stories with others.
I believe most of the times, we become too confined to the thinking (politically correct stuff) of the world that we become too afraid to speak out about what God had done in our lives so that it will not offend others nor jeopardize our job etc. Or, sometimes we don’t think our testimonies will be helpful nor good enough. The devil is always putting negative thoughts in our minds to stop us sharing about God. I used to think this way, and i realised it is because i wasn’t close to God in the past. Therefore, it is important to spend time reading God’s Word DAILY and to have fellowship with fellow christians OFTEN to provide us the confidence to share our God-stories and eventually have the boldness to share with non-christians. It takes time and preserverance, and I am still working at it. Blessings.