What stories are important to you?
Over at ThinkChristian.net, Bethany Keeley is asking her readers to consider what stories are most important to them:
I think it’s interesting that we ask people more often their favorite bible verse instead of their favorite bible story. Favorite verses tend to be pithy commands, stories are more perplexing and complicated. I wonder what you would learn about people’s lives and their callings if you asked them about their favorite stories instead. I wonder what our church would be like if we focused on telling stories more. [...]
One story that is important to me is the story of Ruth and Naomi. I like that story because it reminds me of God’s faithfulness in bad circumstances, and how sometimes God’s faithfulness is expressed through loyal friendship. I also love to struggle with the book of Habakkuk. I love that Habakkuk asks so many hard questions, and that God responds, even if he doesn’t respond the way I would like. I come back to that story a lot, in part because I don’t understand it, and I think God has more to teach me there.
Her distinction between favorite verses and favorite stories is an interesting one. It’s easy to shoehorn a verse into a nice proverb or saying, but it’s the stories behind those verses that give them their weight. For example, the story of the Good Samaritan can be summed up by saying “love your enemies”–but truly living that idea from day to day, as Jesus taught us, requires an example. For the most part, we need those stories to fall back on.
What about you? Do you have a favorite Bible story?
Here are 3 of my favorites:
1: Jonah in the whale. God PROVIDED a great fish to swallow Jonah. Go back & read it. God says PROVIDED. God rescued Jonah from certain death by PROVIDING a fish to swallow him! I am sure God has PROVIDED me a “whale”–probably more than once!
2. Job: When he learned he’d lost not only possessions, but also all his children, he worshiped saying, “The LORD gives and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the Name of the LORD.” Job sets the example to worship no matter what. This story saw me through a time when I feared I would lose my shelter, car, everything.
3. Daniel & his friends & the fiery furnace: they told King Nebbuchadnezzar, who was furious at them for refusing to bow & worship his golden image & who gave them a chance to recant upon threat of death in the fiery furnace, that they were “confident that our God will deliver us…But even if He does not, we will never worship or serve your gods.**”even if He does NOT!”** This sets the an example of “courage under fire”: to keep standing with God even when I’m going through the scariest situation ever! This was the other story that saw me through the time I greatly feared I would be homeless.
I kept saying these verses & stories to myself & others over & over, & reminding myself that The Son of Man had only a stone for a pillow. So if that was good enough for Christ, then it would be good enough for me.
I was blessed abundantly by our God & He saved me from what I feared, so here I am telling you about the good thing He has done for me!
If God had not poured out His blessings upon me like a deluge, I would be homeless right now! Instead, I’m in a safe apartment, I have money for this month’s bills, and there is even a weekly Ladies’s Bible study in this building!
Blessed be the Name of the LORD!
I like the story of Daniel who never waivered in his faith in God regardless of circumstances. Neither in the face of the lions in their den nor in continuing to pray at his regularly scheduled time with God when the king forbade it, did he show a lack of faith. He had a relationship with God that sustained him through all his persecution. I want to be a Daniel.
I love the story of the prodigal son. When the boy returns, the father (representing God) ran to him to welcome him home. The hearers of this story would have been shocked by this for men in their culture didn’t run as it was considered undignified. God is showing that He will go to great lengths, even to the wounding of Himself (look at the cross), in order to win us. Amazing!