The Story of the Bible
The Story of the Bible
Find a place where you can be still… while your baby is being fed, napping or playing quietly.
Take in four deep breaths.
Give thanks to the Lord and invite him to speak to your heart.
Imagine Together – The Story of Creation
Imagine that you are watching the story of Creation unfold before your eyes… Pretend that you are watching a movie you’ve never seen before.
There is nothing. Nothing. Simply darkness. Inside, you can feel yourself straining to see what could be coming next… waiting. And then, suddenly from the nothing God said “Let there be light.” And there, all around you was glorious light. God saw it, said that it was good, and separated the light from the darkness. The light was called Day… the Darkness was called Night. You beheld the first evening and morning. Then, before your eyes God made the sky, and then separated land from the sea. He made vegetables, fruits, and all manner of seed-bearing plants. He said that all of this was good. God made lights in the sky to separate the day from the night — to mark the days and years of the earth. He made the stars, the moon, and the sun to govern the night and day. You watched in amazement as God made all manner of creatures and beasts to fill the oceans, the land and the skies. Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. So God created human beings in his own image… Male and Female. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground. ”Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground — everything that has life.” And then, when this was completed, after six whole days of creating everything good and beautiful, God rested.
Reflection
Pause here for a moment and take a deep breath. Did you notice any feelings come up as you imagined watching this story unfold? Fascination? Boredom? Excitement or awe? All feelings are a door to communion with God — so allow what you feel to be held in a space of open curiosity as we continue reading and wondering together.
The Story of The Fall
What happens next in this story? Adam and Eve – the first humans God created in his image, decided to submit to a serpent’s powerful persuasion, and disobey the one command God had given them – to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. All of what humankind was given to rule, came under a curse of separation as the relationship between Creator and Image Bearer was severed. But God… The entire portion of scripture between this heartbreaking moment in Genesis and the beginning of the New Testament could be summed up in those two words. Let’s read together God’s magnificent plan to reunify with his Creation… and his beloved Image Bearers.
God’s Good Story
Matthew 1:22 – “All this happened so that what the Lord said through the prophet might be fulfilled: ‘Look: the virgin is pregnant and will have a son, and they shall give him the name Emmanuel,’ — which means, in translation, ‘God with us.”
John 3:16-17 – “This you see, is how much God loved the world: enough to give his only, special son, so that everyone who believes in him should not be lost but should have eternal life. After all, God didn’t send the son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world could be saved by him.”
Pause here and take another deep breath.
Emmanuel – God with us.
What does it mean to you that God INTENDED to pursue closeness with his creation – His image bearers – for thousands of years until Jesus. What does it mean to you that he entered our reality of separation, gave his life – bore the weight of the entire complex system of sin and brokenness (until it killed him) – then became the first ever to NOT stay dead but instead breathe again victoriously! Jesus’ first breath of life was breathed, with the agreed-upon intention of the Trinity, to be able to walk again in the Garden with his creation… his Image Bearers (humanity) whom he intended always to co-create with. The persuasion of the serpent could no longer come between him and humanity. This is the new kingdom of God. What does that mean to you?
Reflection
Spend a few minutes with any feelings or wonderings that arise from reading this story.
What is a way that you enjoy expressing yourself… Painting, writing? Walking around and paying attention to the little things? Do you enjoy playing with your little one and soaking up time with them? Do what you enjoy – and talk with God about how this story makes you feel. In this you will be co-creating with God. The ways we enjoy expressing ourselves are often the ways God likes to co-create with us. This is a way we are invited into God’s Good Story.