The Story of the Bible

All the eyes at the college party turned and looked at me as M&Ms clattered on the hard floor around my feet and then went shooting off in different directions. I stood mortified trying to piece together what had just happened. As I picked up the remains of the candy and my pride, I realized that in my enthusiasm to tell a cute boy a story, I shoved a handful of M&Ms I had just grabbed into my pocket. A pocket that betrayed me with a huge hole sending M&Ms shooting out the bottom of my shorts and onto the floor.

My kids love that story and delight in asking me to tell it again. They also want to hear other stories from when I was young. The sad ones, like when my dog ran away and never came home. The scary ones, like the time my siblings and I had to pull a mattress over our heads in our bathtub because the tornado siren was going off and we didn’t know if a Texas Twister would touch down in our neighborhood. The significant ones, like the first time I met their dad.

Even though all these stories happened long before they were born, we revisit these stories again and again because in a way they are their stories too. Parents’ stories also help kids navigate similar experiences in their own lives. They help children not feel alone when they encounter difficult situations. Shared stories from the past frame their own stories and help them form their identity. They give kids a larger narrative to which they can belong.

As much as my stories are important for my kids to hear, there is a much more important Story for them to hear, learn, remember, and hopefully embrace: God’s Story.

We can know about God only because He is willing to reveal Himself to us. God’s purposes and ways are so different from ours, and God’s nature is so mysterious that we are not capable of understanding God without His help (Isaiah 55:8–9; 1 Corinthians 2:6–11). God could have remained hidden or silent, leaving us to muddle through life lost and confused, but God chose to tell us His Story. The truth that “all  Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV) reminds us that God inspired the writers of Scripture to record the words we would need to help us know God, understand His interactions with His people, and learn how we are part of the story.

Reading God’s Story, we learn that He is the uncreated Creator (John 1:1–3). In Genesis, we come to understand how sin entered the world as well as  the ways in which God was even then at work to provide the possibility of a restored relationship with Him. Through the gospel stories, we learn about the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that provide the pathway for a relationship with God. In the story of how He calmed a raging storm (Mark 4:35–41), we learn about God’s power. Through parables we discover God’s pursuing love that came to look for us when we were lost and far away (Luke 15:1–32). We also gain assurance that God is preparing an eternal home where we will be with Him without sorrow or pain (John 14:1–4; Revelation 21:1–4)

Even the parts of Scripture that are not technically stories or narratives, such as Paul’s letters, the poetry of Psalms, or the wisdom literature of Proverbs, are in another way still narrating God’s interaction with people in history. In them, we learn that He is near to us when we are brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), is a comforter who provides peace in our suffering (2 Corinthians 1:3–4), and will make straight paths for those who trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5–6). We can also understand God’s standard for how we should live in light of what we know about Him. We come to know what it means to truly love one another (1 Corinthians 13). We can understand the characteristics God wants to grow in us through His Spirit (Galatians 5). And we learn about the tools God provides to us to help us resist evil (Ephesians 6:10–17).

God graciously preserved His Story in the pages of Scripture so we can read it over and over again. As we engage with Scripture, His Spirit provides help so that we not only understand but are able to live out the truths we discover. 

There are many ways to read God’s Story. Reading through a favorite passage of Scripture can take on new meaning when we see ourselves in the Story. One way to do this is to ask the question, “How might we live out the encouragement or example we read in this passage?” 

We can also read a section of Scripture multiple times in one setting and ask for the Spirit’s help to identify an insight in the story. Even taking time to read the passage aloud might highlight a detail that encourages you or reveals something about God’s character.

Scripture is also one grand narrative, so there can be great value in reading through the whole Story. There are many great reading plans that help guide readers through the entire Bible in a set amount of time. If that sounds too daunting, a more manageable selection such as reading through the Gospels and Acts, which record the events of Jesus’ life and the story of the early church, can be a great section of Scripture to explore.

All of Scripture is an unfolding of God’s Story. And as we read God’s stories in the Bible, they help to show us more of who God is and who He is creating us to be.

—Written by Lisa Samra. Used by permission from the author.