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Something to think about...

A few years ago, my husband and I were discussing the Bible and what is and isn't in it.  I have often been puzzled by how much narratives read into the Bible stories.  I became aware of it when I read Francine Rivers' novels about Bible women.  At the end of each book, she included a Bible study.  The first assignment in the Bible study is to read the story in the Bible.  What discovered with the story of Bathsheba was that there were details in my head that weren't in the Bible.  I was caught by surprise when I realized this.

I discussed it with my husband and he said to me that God put what He wanted in the Bible.  The stories in the Bible aren't meant to point us to the people.  They are meant to point us to God.

I was reading a book this morning, Welcome to the Story by Stephen J. Nichols, and came upon an interesting quote.  Nichols makes the point that as we're reading the Bible, we should begin to realize something.  "We, if paying attention, will recognize ourselves in one of these characters. (the woman at the well, Nicodemus, Martha...) By reading about them, we will be reading about ourselves.  And just as they are confronted by Jesus, so, too, are we." p. 97

I thought about what he says in this quote.  He wasn't saying that the stories are about the people.  The stories are still about God.  I think he has a point, though.  I also think it takes humility to see ourselves in the stories.
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