It is nothing short of divine providence that, despite centuries of war, hate, racism, slavery, misogyny, colonialism and systemic injustice in which the Bible has often been wielded as a tool of oppression, that the goodness and beauty of God’s word remains. Fallen humans create fallen interpretations of the Bible and then live out in accordance with those fallen ideals. As humans, we’ve justified a whole host of evils in the name of Scripture and yet, somehow, there are still followers of Jesus today who love God’s word and are seeking to deconstruct the colorblind and racist hermeneutics that have saturated our society for far too long. I thank God for that.
As Christians in the 21st century, we still need the Bible. More than that, we need to understand why we need it. The Bible was never about making us feel good or giving us power to wield over others. Rather it’s about beholding and becoming. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” The more we read and submit ourselves to God’s word, the more we are supposed to become like Jesus.
This StoryArc on Scripture is all about tasting and seeing that the triune God in the Bible is good. He is our loving father, our path and our light. The more we come to him, the more he will transform us into the image of his son, Jesus (Romans 8:29). In other words, when we read the Bible, it’s supposed to change us - how we think, how we feel, how we live out and see the world. Spending time in God’s word isn’t even about becoming “smarter.” It’s about becoming more filled with the peace of Christ and living as Jesus did.
Have you ever thought of the Bible like that before? This approach to the Bible may be new for some of you and that’s OK. There’s a lot we need to deconstruct in ourselves, including myths about the Bible and its wrong and harmful uses. As we journey through this StoryArc on Scripture, you may learn new things about yourself, about your past and the voices - both helpful and harmful - along the way. Take it slow. Be gentle with yourself. And keep clinging to God’s word. You won’t regret it.