The Bible Is Our Family History
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. -- Genesis 1:1
Many grew up hearing those words from the first sentence in the Bible. We read them and memorized them. It’s how it all began. How we all began.
What does the Bible mean to you? How do you see it? Is it a book filled with moral rules? Is it a textbook? Or maybe a love story? Or even a family history? Or is it possible that the Bible is all those things and more?
We are so fascinated with family history. We want to know where we came from, who our greats many times removed were, and how we ended up where we are. It’s as if somehow those people who came before us can explain away some of who we are today.
Do you ever stop to realize that the Bible is our family history too? We are adopted into God’s family, with all the rights and blessings of His chosen people. Because we are chosen. You and me. Believers. Chosen to live forever with God as part of His family.
It takes on a different meaning when we stop and realize that Adam is our grandfather, though the greats we might attach are more than most of us could imagine. We understand more clearly the story of Ruth and how she came to be in our family history. We think of David, with his deep love for God and his imperfect life, and we realize that God loved this ancestor even when He sinned greatly. And we understand that God loves us with that same, deep love.
Our family history, with all the squabbles and fights, the victories and defeats, that make up generations of lives. Our ancestors. Our family tree.
We don’t think of the Bible like that too often. It’s more of a history lesson, mixed with moral rules, and laced with a love story. But that love story is about a Father doing the unthinkable to save His lost children. It is about a Father showing mercy again and again, taking back His children and embracing them no matter what. It is about a love that never fails, never ends, never gives up. That’s the story of the Bible.
I reread the Bible every 12 to 18 months. While I mostly study with the NIV, my daily reading gives me an opportunity to read other versions of this wonderful book. Yesterday I began the NKJV. I don’t know why this opening sentence struck me as so profound this time.
Maybe it’s hearing Max Lucado talk about the Bible as family history. Maybe it’s having Lisa Harper ask us to define the Bible as moral rulebook, text book or love story. It all whirls in my mind and I realize, maybe for the first time, that this is my history and I am amazed. And more than a little awestruck. “In the beginning….” my story began.
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