God In The Bible.

I was thinking back on a quote I had seen from a man who was talking about some doubts he had been having with his faith, and how his experiences might help another person going through quite the same thing. It then clicked in my mind a relation to a lesson I had learned in one of my Wednesday Encounter classes.

The quote was talking about how the man was faced with the decision from his church (or group) to either accept literal-7-day-creationism or to give up God. He said that he gave up God and found Jesus Christ. The key word in this entire circumstance is "found."

In my class, we were learning (or talking) about how the Bible is a book where the goal of reading it is to know the author. Most books do not have the purpose of conveying personal information about the author and most people do not pick up a book simply to learn more about the author (unless it is an autobiography). When the Bible is seen as an autobiography, it can be understood that the message is not to get wrapped up in the stories (as they might seem) but to rather FIND God and see a little more about who He is (I can see in my head the entire point of it all being God saying, "Look at Me!" - a quote often used in the most recent message series at my church (God's God-centeredness a complete different topic all its own)).

Either way, what this all relates to is that the message we should be getting in all of this is a better picture of the God we serve (and love), without getting wrapped up in the sometimes inconsequential or distracting details. I hear people talk a lot about how the Bible is the greatest love story ever told, or the greatest action/adventure, and then about how it is a love letter - or this, or that - but then I see some people who get so extremely wrapped up in analyzing every little thing, or making things out to be what they are not. It just seems like the purpose and our direction are two complete opposites.

I will not claim here to be a Bible scholar, or expert...and maybe that is a good thing. The more I realize what it really means to read the Bible, and how everything fits together, the more I tune in and want the invitation to be part of it all. These past few Wednesdays I have learned something completely new every time - and the Holy Spirit is continually testifying to the truths I come across and reworking things in my heart and mind. For all of this, I can only thank and praise that influence in my life.