Remaking a Broken World #1
I’m a pastor’s kid. Along with all the things that come with being a PK, I was a really good Sunday School student (although probably dreaded by all the teachers). Abraham & Isaac, David & Goliath, Jonah & the fish, Jesus’ parables, the prodigal son – I knew it all. A regular goody-two-shoes.
But the Bible didn’t make much sense. Sure, I thought I understood each part on its own, but when thrown together it became mish mash. To me, the books of the Bible had very little to do with each other apart from God being the ultimate author of them all. I also thought of the Old and New Testaments as pretty much the same. Just as we follow Jesus in the New Testament, we should follow King David and other OT heroes as moral examples (omitting the adultery & murder, of course).
Then the light dawned.
I was at a conference in Brisbane, when I saw, for the first time, how the whole Bible links together. I grasped the importance of God’s promises to Abraham, I saw Jesus as the culmination of God’s plan, I caught a glimpse of God’s eternal kingdom that is now but not yet. It was wonderful! It was as if I’d been watching a black and white TV that suddenly developed colour. The same TV, but on a whole new level. All the stories I’d learnt at Sunday School now fitted together with Jesus as the common thread. I could see the Bible as the one story with Jesus at the climax.
So that was my introduction to biblical theology. It’s changed the way I read the Bible, although I often still struggle to understand and apply it well. That’s why I’m interested in “Remaking a broken world”. I’m hoping to further develop my biblical theology by reading a book that explores church as the heart of the Bible story.
I hope you enjoy the journey with me.
But the Bible didn’t make much sense. Sure, I thought I understood each part on its own, but when thrown together it became mish mash. To me, the books of the Bible had very little to do with each other apart from God being the ultimate author of them all. I also thought of the Old and New Testaments as pretty much the same. Just as we follow Jesus in the New Testament, we should follow King David and other OT heroes as moral examples (omitting the adultery & murder, of course).
Then the light dawned.
I was at a conference in Brisbane, when I saw, for the first time, how the whole Bible links together. I grasped the importance of God’s promises to Abraham, I saw Jesus as the culmination of God’s plan, I caught a glimpse of God’s eternal kingdom that is now but not yet. It was wonderful! It was as if I’d been watching a black and white TV that suddenly developed colour. The same TV, but on a whole new level. All the stories I’d learnt at Sunday School now fitted together with Jesus as the common thread. I could see the Bible as the one story with Jesus at the climax.
So that was my introduction to biblical theology. It’s changed the way I read the Bible, although I often still struggle to understand and apply it well. That’s why I’m interested in “Remaking a broken world”. I’m hoping to further develop my biblical theology by reading a book that explores church as the heart of the Bible story.
I hope you enjoy the journey with me.