The Bible: A Story

If you read last week’s post, this concept won’t be too surprising. If you did not catch it, the premise is simple: the Bible is a collection of stories.

Dramatic pause for any panicked gasps, “hey, that’s heretical”s, or any other alarmed reactions that might occur. None? Fabulous!

I want to emphasize that the term “story” does not by default mean fiction (although the Bible does have fictional stories, but we’ll get to those in a second). Nonfiction, historical accounts, personal testimonies, all of these are kinds of stories, and all of these are found in the Bible!

Not every book in the Bible is a story — some are legal documents, songs, poetry or letters of wisdom — but the majority are in some way a story. They range in genre, purpose, style, and original audience, but storytelling is one of the primary means that the Bible uses to communicate to us about God. Genesis is a true story of creation, Esther and Jonah are individual testimonies about aspects of faith, the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are accounts of Jesus’ time on earth, Acts is a chronicle about the earliest churches. Each and every one of these is a story and they all provide a tangible context to God’s behavior, nature, or wisdom that our little brains can comprehend.

Could we truly understand God’s righteousness if we didn’t have the story of the ten plagues against Egypt in Exodus? Could we truly grasp the idea of His mercy and patience without the story of Jonah? What about understanding His sovereignty in Job? Could we really appreciate the nature of His relationship with Israel — and with us as sinners — without the story of Hosea and his adulterous wife; that loving pursuit, where no price is too high to bring back the wanderer? We, as the most finite of beings, will never fully understand God’s infinite nature, but through these stories we are given bits and pieces that do make sense.

Now, that is just the nonfiction. To move onto the topic of fiction in the Bible, we have stories directly from Jesus Himself, namely the parables. Fictional accounts of people going through specific situations that He used to convey a more important message. Fiction as a tool of teaching and a way to not just explain positive and negative behaviors, but to demonstrate them in a relatable situation. They can be used as a way to get under people's guard, commenting on their sinful behavior without directly calling them out. Jesus used fiction expertly in these ways, providing for both the hungry masses seeking instruction as well as the scribes and Pharisees, who particularly didn’t want to hear His message.

The Bible is, truly, the perfect book. The living, breathing Word of God, sharper than a two-edged sword. A brilliant guide for our lives and a wonderful gift. A God so vast and incomprehensible to us chose not to remain aloof in Heaven but gave us these sixty-six books so that we could understand His nature and learn to walk in His ways. How fantastic is that?! How wonderful and marvelous that He would even reach out to us, His rebellious little creation?

For storytellers, the Bible is also an excellent guide to the kinds of stories we should be telling. They do not shy away from the brokenness in the world; they do not hide the violence, tragedy, disobedience, or sin but in all things point back towards God. They honor Him in all respects, offering both warnings and hope to those who follow His teachings. They do not glorify sin — although there may be people within it that do glorify sin (i.e. Hosea’s wife) — but use it to demonstrate how far we have fallen from God and how we can never, ever catch up under our own power. And in that they bring hope. Each individual tale points directly and undeniably toward one, perfect person: Jesus. Each narrative tells us to flee from sin and death, to endure hardships, and to cling to God Almighty and the salvation found only in Him.

So, Christian storyteller, if you want to improve in your craft (as well as nourish your mind, heart, and soul), read the Bible! It is even more valuable to your craft than you might’ve realized.