It doesn’t matter how old you get, a good story is always exciting. The Bible is a big book, but it is one continuous and fascinating story. One reason why many people find the Bible hard to understand is that they don’t see the Bible as a complete story. In a minute, I’m going to give you a brief summary of the entire Bible.
Before I do that, though, let me first tell you a story about C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) and J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973).These two men were close friends and are two of the greatest storytellers in recent history. C.S. Lewis is best known for his series of books called The Chronicles of Narnia, which has been translated into more than 30 languages and has sold millions of copies. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, popular stories that have recently been made into award-winning movies.
One day, while these two men were fellow professors at Oxford University, they had a life-changing conversation that lasted until 3:00 in the morning. C.S. Lewis had been a devout atheist since he was 14, but he had begun to doubt that position.
During that evening Tolkien asked Lewis: “Why do the stories move you?” Then he answered his own question, “The reason you are moved by a story like Sleeping Beauty is because your soul somehow knows there really is an evil sorcerer who has us under his spell, and when you read of the prince who comes and sets her free, it’s because your soul knows that it really takes a kiss of grace to wake us up and set us free.” Tolkien reminded him that these fairy stories weren’t true, but that the story about Jesus is true and that it touches the deepest needs of the human heart.
Twelve days later Lewis wrote this to a friend: “I have passed from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ and in Christianity. My long night walk with Tolkien had a great deal to do with it.”
What is the forever-true story that Lewis trusted with his eternal destiny? Let me share the story of the Bible with you. If you let it, it can change your life, too.
In the opening scenes of Scripture (Genesis, Chapters 1-3), we see God creating the world and then the first two humans—Adam and Eve. God made everything perfect and enjoyable. Adam and Eve had everything they could desire, including a daily face-to-face conversations with the One who made them.
Then God gave Adam and Eve an opportunity to show whether they really loved and trusted Him. God gave them a single command. He told them not to eat any fruit from one particular tree and warned them that they would die (be separated from Him) if they disobeyed.
Sadly, they decided that they didn’t really need God and that by disobeying Him they could somehow become His equal. In other words, Adam and Eve wanted to become their own gods, do their own thing, and not have anyone–even Almighty God–telling them what to do. The result was chaos. God’s creation was cursed, (that’s why we see hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.), and Adam and Eve (and their descendants) began experiencing death and hardship.
Thankfully, God didn’t just walk away. He promised (Genesis 3:15) that one day a Deliverer would come through the woman. (Later we learn that it would be Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus.) He also promised that the Deliverer would give a mortal wound to Satan, even though Satan would injure Him. This is the first picture we have of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.
Much of the rest of the Old Testament unfolds the story of how God was going to rescue His creation. God chose one man, Abraham, to begin a nation from which the Deliverer would come. Ceremonies, including animal sacrifices, were given as pictures or reminders of the perfect sacrifice that would come. Those things were “… only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near” (Hebrews 10:1).
The New Testament continues the story with the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God Himself became a human like us so that He could be our substitute and endure the punishment for sin that we all deserve. That was the only way that the curse could be broken.
The New Testament books from Acts to Jude recount the story of how the good news about Christ was spread and what it means to live the Christian life.
The last book of the Bible describes what will happen when Jesus returns for a second time. He will cleanse this world of sin and establish a new paradise. The Bible story begins with paradise and ends with paradise. There is a lot of mess in between. Thankfully, the mess is temporary, but God’s new creation will be permanent. You want to be there–instead of making the same mistake our ancestors made when they followed their own ideas. All those who continue to follow God’s enemy, Satan, will spend eternity in the place of punishment God has created for him. That’s why it is so important to embrace Christ’s forgiveness now.
If you have surrendered your life to Christ, then He is your best friend. Eternal paradise awaits you when this life is over. “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).
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