Seeing the Story
By Lexi Ellis
“That which we have seen and heard we proclaim
also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our
fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
1 John 1:3 (ESV)
My roommates and I used to watch reruns of a comedy on TV. We’d catch one episode
in season one and then one from another season the next night. The story jumped
around, but we basically pieced the storyline together. Over time, one woman
dated two men. Overwhelmingly, we liked Guy #1 more and complained about the
“other guy.”
Recently,
my husband and I began watching the seasons in order. With the whole story, I
completely changed my opinion and saw why the other guy made total sense. I
switched my thinking because I’d needed to know the whole story to actually
“get it.”
Needing
the whole story is applicable to God’s Word, too. I grew up loving the stories
of the Old and New Testaments. Yet it wasn’t until I was older that I learned
about the overarching Story of Scripture. Suddenly, when I saw the whole story,
I saw God’s mission - - to rebuild, renew and restore a broken creation back to
Himself.
Numerous
theologians have written about seeing the Bible in its entirety so we don’t
miss the overarching Story of Scripture[1]… a
Story in parts:[2]
- Act 1: God establishes His Kingdom
- The creation story and how humanity was originally in a perfect relationship with God.
- Act 2: Rebellion in the Kingdom
- Adam and Eve choose sin over relationship with God.
- Act 3: The King Chooses Israel
- God builds a covenant relationship with the Israelites. They rebel, God reacts, they return to Him…and then repeat.
- Act 4: The Coming of the King
- Christ offers Himself to restore our relationship with God. Now, there’s a new covenant where any believer can enter a relationship with God and get His Spirit’s internal presence.
- Act 5: Spreading the News of the King
- With the Holy Spirit and the entrance of the Church, we’re called into a life of missions. We know Christ will come again someday to put an end to sin and brokenness.
The
stories in God’s Word fit into this beautiful story - - episodes in a
redemptive story; a story of God restoring His relationship with us. We must
remember the whole story, pausing and reflecting on its entirety. I didn’t buy
into the idea of that character loving the “the other guy” until I saw the
whole story. And I miss out on the beauty of what our God did - - and is doing
- - if I forget about the overarching Story in Scripture.
GOING DEEPER:
1.
Thank God for the complete-ness of His Story.
FURTHER READING:
Lexi
recently married Andrew, serves with Children’s Ministries at Oakwood, and is a
fourth grade teacher at Lake Country Christian Academy.
