I find my story in a larger story (Part 1)

One of the reasons I mentioned why people who are not Christians might dismiss Christianity is that they can't accept that the Bible, a book written 2,000-plus years ago for a completely different people, can have a real impact on someone who lives in the 21st century.

I get the logic of that argument, especially the part about the Bible having been written for a completely different culture. Here's why I think this is not a valid excuse.

The Bible is one long ongoing story that is centered around the relationship of human beings with God. The Bible—about one-third longer than the ultra-long War and Peace—is made up of many different parts (called "books"). It is attributed to about 40 authors—some anonymous, some known—and separated into two major parts, the Old and the New Testaments. It was written over a very long period of time—about 1,400 years—in various languages.

Given all that, how could the Bible possibly be a single story?

Christians believe that the Bible is an ongoing story of God's interaction with humanity from the very beginning of humankind to the end of humankind as we know it at some point in the future.

The Bible tells the story of the ups and downs of human attempts to live in some kind of union with God (by following an immense set of rules) or to live independently and apart from God—with the common end result that all of these attempts had less than desirable outcomes.

After myriad failed-attempt stories with their aftermaths and repercussions, a new page is turned in the account of God and humans with the story of Jesus' life, death, and coming back to life. That's the part of the story where all people are offered to return as full and worthy members into God's family by simply accepting the reality of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. 

That's it. 

Now this is not all told by one person who has a particular writing style or dramatic flair. Instead, this gargantuan story is told in many ways—from songs to narrations to visions to poems—and often from different viewpoints. What makes this so interesting is that it offers so many "points of entry."

Much of my professional life these days is spent researching and documenting how different cultures see the different parts of the Bible. The part they relate to most easily is often determined by a similar work or set of stories in their own language. It's so fascinating to see that there is virtually no part of the Bible that's not especially liked by at least one group. These sometimes unlikely parts become their entry points into the overall story of God and humanity. 

That's why the Bible is best read not straight through from its first page to its last. It's also why the Bible is typically not translated in the order you find in the printed Bible in the bookstore. This great story allows anyone to enter at any point, or more specifically, the point that is right for that person or culture. That's the point where they can start to become engaged and then continue or even re-enter at yet another point. 

I'm not writing this to convince you to pick up the Bible and read it. This is a book about the benefits of being a Christian as I see them. But having access to the Bible is one of my most cherished ones. 

I realize that the term "story" has been a little too en vogue for the last 20 years or so, but pretend with me that we're starting with a blank slate. 

Who are you? Who am I? To a great degree we are made up of stories or events of the past, of narratives that have been passed down to us. These stories about our past are not always made up of words—they can be emotions, opinions, or even murky scenes that we can't see very clearly. What unites them, though, is how they work together to make us who we are. Not only at night when fragments of those stories populate our dreams; by day they also guide our actions. It's not surprising that most therapy consists of dealing with our stories, understanding them, redirecting them, and maybe releasing them.

Just imagine what it means to Christians who believe that the Bible is the authoritative story of God and humanity. A story that involves thousands of people, covers hundreds of years of history, and spans a number of cultural spheres. Even more importantly, it's a story that involves you. Now, every good story involves the listener or reader. That's what makes it good. But Christians believe that this is the ultimate story, about the one who created humanity—God—and his creation—us. So it naturally goes much deeper than stories like Anna Karenina or TheLord of the Rings. In fact, once you allow yourself to completely enter into it, to become a part of it, it is your story. Why? Because it describes your shortcomings and triumphs in your own attempts to be a friend of God. And then eventually, it offers you a way out. It promises that you don't have to be "good"; you just have to have faith and practice the path of love.