The Bible is filled with stories told on purpose, stories overflowing with purpose.
None of the Biblical authors are simply spinning stories, shooting the breeze, or wasting ink. No, these stories carry within them the seeds of transformation, purposeful and intentional stories, written and collected to move the hearts and lives of the readers. Discerning those purposes through the help of the Holy Spirit means these stories come alive in adventurous, exciting, inspiring (and yes, convicting) ways.
How about a few examples…
Leviticus – Oh that’s a doozy. If you are new to reading the Bible, Leviticus can feel like a real sleeper. It’s a lengthy book filled with what can seem like an arbitrary (and monotonous) collection of rules and regulations. At first glance that can seem like a fair assessment. But what if…What if Leviticus was written with purpose? What if Leviticus is a book that speaks of a group of slaves rescued out of the oppression of a dominant power and saved by a grace-filled, loving God who in an incredibly beautiful way says, “I choose you.” To be chosen by God is a free gift of grace (always), but it is to be reflected in the way we live (always). God looks at this group of former slaves and says, “As my people this is how you are to live, different than your neighbors, different than your enemies. You are to offer the world a counter-story, a counter-culture, a counter-example of what they’ve grown accustomed to as the norm.” What if Leviticus is this incredibly rich story of God’s claim on a people, forming and fashioning them to live in a way that consistently honors God, takes responsibility for their actions, cares for their bodies and creation, and consistently extends dignity to others? What if instead of a boring book of rules, Leviticus forces us to ask the question, “How am I to live a counter-example in my time?”
Daniel – What a great adventure story of boys tossed in furnaces unharmed and tranquil dens of domesticated lions…right? But wait, what if these stories aren’t for entertainment but instead revolution? What if these stories tell of a group of young leaders who had been coopted by the powers of corruption, wealth, pagan stories, and heathen pleasures? What if these stories tell of how these young leaders, even though experiencing great pressure to surrender their faith and go with the flow, even though in the minority of a hostile and dominant culture, resist and revolt, cling to God and rebel against the forces of perversion? The book of Daniel isn’t a live-action comic book story filled with heroes and fantastic adventures. No, the book of Daniel is a call to action, a call to rebellion against the forces of darkness that would seek to pervert faith, a testimony of steadfast courage in a culture that’s trying to water down their commitments to God. It’s a book that states, “When you find yourself on the edge of faithlessness, ready to abandon all you’ve grown to believe about God, ready to take the easy way out and join the world’s stories…refuse, revolt, trust God, pray, and remember God is always on the side of those that remain true.”
Acts – Now I’m getting fired up! This is our Missional Manifesto! Acts isn’t a collection of really neat stories about the early church (though it is that too). Acts is a book written on purpose, a series of complacency-shattering, lazy faith challenging stories that awaken Jesus followers to their true purpose. It’s a book that describes (not prescribes) God’s people tenaciously, faithfully, and courageously carrying out the mission of Jesus, to make known God’s Kingdom in this world through healing, wholeness, freedom, liberation, and salvation. Located in various contexts and cities, the mission is fleshed out in these early believers in compelling and creative ways. Acts enables the church to imagine what fresh expressions of the Jesus mission would look like today. What if the same Spirit that consumed the life of these often unqualified and ill-equipped nobodies, empowering them in ways that enabled them to do immeasurably more than any of them could have imagined was still at work in God’s church of today? What might the result be if we pursued God’s mission and vision for the world with the same vigor and passion those early believers had? How might lives and communities be changed?
Ok, ok…I could go on forever and I will continue to break down books and sections of Scriptures as we move forward, but I just wanted to give you a little peek into the purposes of just 3 of the 66 books. Not only is their purpose to be discovered in the books themselves, but in portions of the books. Christians that embrace the purposefulness of Scripture read Scripture with the anticipation that there will be claims made, calls to action, transformative and disruptive encounters. There will be moments when the world will shift under our feet, when our purpose will become clear, when imagination will be stirred, when directives will be given. Reading the Bible this way means reading it in the anticipation that each word, verse, chapter, story, and book bears within it the power of purpose!
Let’s get busy again today!
Now I need you to read the rest of Luke 8. A little more background here. Luke has often been considered the gospel for those nearly out of bounds (the marginalized, those on the fringes). Throughout the book of Luke, Jesus is consistently redefining who is in and who is out. He consistently makes time for those that no one else will have anything to do with. Remember, so far he’s dined with sinners, hung out with non-Jewish Centurions, and now he crosses the stormy waters into off-limits lands, chills with the demon-possessed, is touched by a woman everyone would have considered cursed, and even enters the room of a lost cause. With that little bit of background, what do you think Luke has in mind when arranging these stories? How might that purpose be reflected in our lives today?
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