FOUR SHORT WORDS: WEEK 2- "BETWEEN: Why don't things work the way they should?"

There’s a sort of reverence and otherness around the Bible; a sense that it’s unlike any other book. I can’t think of any other book that people encase in leather, emboss their name in gold on the front of, display prominently in their home, and pass down to the next generation.  Nobody is doing that with their copy of Safe Harbor by Danielle Steel or their copy of the Firm by John Grisham or even their copy of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. I bring up a kid’s book because the Bible obviously isn’t a kid’s book, but there is a massive effort to introduce it to kids. There are coloring pages & figurines & comic book versions. Many of us have a sense that these stories matter; that they’re important for kids to understand and ought to be committed to memory. And most of us actually do know some of the stories. We just don’t always know what they mean or how they fit together.  The Bible is less a book than a library of books. It was written by over 40 authors in 3 languages over the course of 1400 years. And it was assembled and bound together for a reason.  Everything in the Bible is part of a bigger story, even the confusing, disturbing, and boring parts.  Nothing, not one part of it stands on its own. It’s all deeply interconnected. The question is how?  The Bible is essentially the story of God and humanity. It contains our origins. It’s not the beginning of God’s story, but it does contain the beginning of ours. And although it’s long and ancient and complex, there’s an arc to it. Like every elaborate story, it can be broken down into movements that bring context to the peculiar details and help us make sense of the whole. And since we’re dealing with the story of God and us, these movements don’t just trace the arc of God’s story, they reveal the arc of our individual stories as well. And the best part is—all you need to understand both are four short words. That’s what this series is about.