The Bible can be pure poetry with its imagery. One of the things I love about thumbing through different translations is to read how the same thing is said in different ways. The picture painted for me allows me to transcend the pages and step into the sands of the Israeli deserts.
If you’ve ever watched “Mary Poppins,” you might remember
when Mary, Bert and the kids go on an adventure by jumping into one of Bert’s
sidewalk chalk drawings. One moment they are standing in the street, the next
they are running through a field, encountering dancing penguins, riding a
carousel and then riding the painted horses off the carousel and into an
animated horse race. All it takes is a little imagination.
This is what the Bible is like for me. I don’t ride carousel
horses with Moses or Jesus – although I certainly could if I wanted – but when
I get into scripture, really get into
it, I’m not just reading words on a page. The Good Book comes alive and I find
myself fascinated at the sights, smells and sounds around me.
Last night at my church’s Lenten dinner, our speaker shared
many great words of wisdom on the love of God. One of my favorite things she
stated, though, was that the Bible is a love story. It’s One Big Love Story all
about God’s Love for Us.
The Bible is a love story.
From creation through persecution and into sending his son
to live and die like one of us and then triumph over death and evil in the
resurrection and ascension, the Bible is an incredible narrative of God’s love for
his human children. What lengths, heights and depths he went to to prove his
love for us!
I invite you, if you don’t already do this, to pull a Mary
Poppins when you read the Good Book. Feel the sand beneath your toes, hear the
thunder on the mountain when Moses meets God, see the delight on the faces of
the children who flock to Jesus. To imagine being there is to make it feel that
much more real and tangible. It aids in a deeply personal relationship with
God, something he so desperately wants for us to have.
My prayer today is that as we prepare for the celebration of
our Lord’s resurrection, we move toward a resurrection of our childlike wonder.
May we allow ourselves to step outside of rigidity and read God’s Word with
eager eyes, yearning hearts and open minds. It is the Greatest Love Story Ever
Told, and I hope to see you in its pages.
Amen! =D
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