Growing up my favourite book was called, “Robert the Rose Horse” - it was a pretty brilliant piece of literature containing all of the elements you would expect in a great story - there were horses and roses and sneezing.  To say that it shaped my life is probably grossly exaggerating the truth, but I adored the tale nonetheless.  

As I aged (and believe me, I have) I have continued to be a pretty avid reader although my tastes have deepened somewhat and I find that I read less stories about equine allergies.  I find that now I read more books that wrestle with big ideas  whether they relate to theology or business or church history.  But the one thing I’ve noticed (and maybe we can pin this on Donald Miller somehow) is that I can’t read these sorts of books exclusively.  I keep finding myself gravitating back to books that operate through narrative.  There is something fascinating about travelling along with a character as he/she encounters and overcomes conflict and trial to achieve a goal of some sort.

At church we have been preaching through the gospels in a chronological sequence. Simply put, we’ve been following Jesus.  WIthout a doubt it has been one of my favourite processes in not just my pastoral but also my Christian life.  Watching Jesus and learning from His example has been pretty incredible - so much different than developing an idea and trying to proof text it through Scripture.

Story speaks to us.  And while Miller takes the time to help us think through what elements make a good story and how we can add them to our lives (to make our lives say something worthwhile), I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the big story we see in Scripture.  I am constantly blown away by the common threads I see emerge throughout the entire Bible - that as the individual books are written by different men at different times, we can see (so plainly) in the grand narrative of the entire text, a consistent thread between the God of all Creation and His interaction with humanity.  The big story tells of God overcoming the fall of humanity; redeeming and rescuing through covenant and relationship.  So many times in both the Old Testament and the New, we hear the voice of God calling people into this covenant: “I will be your God and you will be my people.”  For me this week as I’ve been reflecting on this one common thread (of many we see in Scripture) I have been humbled as I remember that the work of Christ is not simply a free pass from judgment, but rather an invitation into a new (and abundant) life.  To submit my life to Jesus and follow after Him means entering into covenant and relationship with the God of Creation and this means not just receiving but also giving back into the relationship.

When you choose to follow Jesus it turns Scripture from simply being a historical narrative to becoming your narrative.  The story we read becomes our story; not just our spiritual heritage, but truth we see in our own lives - that God is in the process of redeeming and rescuing through covenant and relationship - and we proclaim this truth to the world through our lives.  God is at work writing His story - a story of relationship with broken people.  As I continue to follow Jesus and put down the things of my old nature and embrace His offer of abundant life, my desire is not that I would be known for the things that I have accomplished, but rather that I would be known as one who counted God as my God and was counted as one of His people.

Reg