Some call the "Christmas Story "The Greatest story ever told". Some declare the "Christmas story" as one of their favorite stories of the Bible. We say, "I am going to read my kids the Christmas story". Well, there is no such thing as the Christmas story. The account of Christmas is part of the story that God has been telling for all eternity. It is not "The Greatest Story Ever Told" it is "The Only Story That Has Ever Been told.
We have a distorted view of God’s Word. We look at it as a series of unrelated stories. We see the garden as separate from the flood. We see Creation and Christmas as two different books in two different parts of the library. The passover is a Jewish high holy day while the passion is a movie by Mel Gibson.
Without the cross, I can see how and why we do this. If not for the fullness of Christ, it would be easy, even practical to see the Bible and even our lives as a series of events and accounts that stand alone as testimonies to the daily grind of living.
However, when we look at the totality of God’s Word through the glasses of Calvary, it all links together. It all makes sense to those who have been to the cross. There is a common theme and purpose to every paragraph and page. Also, our daily lives take on new meaning and understanding.
We are used to seeing modern writers release their works in series like Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Left Behind series. And while these have common threads among the volumes, they very well can stand alone. Also we see writers who release multiple novels where each one is different from the last, but that is not the case here. God's Word is neither a series nor a collection of varying works from one author. No, these sixty six books are not a series. They are but chapters in one story, one continuous story. And without the climax of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the reader will be left with the sinking feeling that "something's missing".
However, when we look at the totality of God’s Word through the glasses of Calvary, it all links together. It all makes sense to those who have been to the cross. There is a common theme and purpose to every paragraph and page. Also, our daily lives take on new meaning and understanding.
We are used to seeing modern writers release their works in series like Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Left Behind series. And while these have common threads among the volumes, they very well can stand alone. Also we see writers who release multiple novels where each one is different from the last, but that is not the case here. God's Word is neither a series nor a collection of varying works from one author. No, these sixty six books are not a series. They are but chapters in one story, one continuous story. And without the climax of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the reader will be left with the sinking feeling that "something's missing".
The Story of the first Adam is a type of the second Adam, Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:45-50)Genesis 3:14-15 is called the Proto Evangelium, or the first Gospel.
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Gen 3:14-15 (KJV)
Here in the shadow of creation we See a crystal clear picture of Christ's victory over death, hell, and the grave at the cross. After Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation, an even clearer picture of the atoning death of Christ is portrayed as the first blood was shed. God's precious creatures were slain to produce skins to cover the first couple's sins. The picture of sacrifice. The picture of atonement. The picture of the innocent for the guilty.
It doesn't matter where you look. The cross is on every page. The Ark of Noah is the ark of deliverance. An ark on which God closed the door sealing the fate of those inside as well as those outside. Jesus is the ark of safety for mankind. Soon God will close the door sealing the fate of those in Christ and those outside of Christ, (Matthew 24:38-39). From the bronze serpent, to the manna, from the tabernacle to the temple, from the prophets to the priests: It is all about Jesus.
Why can't everyone see this? It is because most people have on the wrong glasses. The majority of the world's population are skeptical if not scofful of the Bible. They see fables and fairy tales, poetry and prose. They see no unity and they see no truth. Why? Because they wear the glasses of sin and darkness. They trust the professor over the preacher. They trust their senses and not a Savior. Therefore they see the Bible as a disjointed collection of superstition and stories.
Even the Christian has fallen into this mode of thinking. The church has become so infected by humanism and worldliness that people who claim to know the Christ, fail to see God's story. In a word, our modern churches are packed full of illiterates. Biblical illiterates. We know the latest box scores, movie listings and political maneuverings, but we don't know God's story.
John Eldredge wrote a book a few years ago called "Epic: The Story God is Telling and Your Part In It". If we would begin to see not only God's Word, but our lives as this epic story God is weaving, things will certainly begin to make more sense to us. When we see people who have obtained everything this world has to offer, (ex. Tiger Woods), yet still are turning over every rock to find pleasure and peace and fulfillment, the point I'm making is clear. When man fails to see the story of God and his place in it, confusion, destruction, sorrow, and pain are not too far away.
As we celebrate Christmas this year, please do not surgically remove the miracle at Bethlehem from the Bible. Let's not leave out the best parts. Paul Harvey used to say, "And here is the rest of the story". Christmas is not Christmas without the old rugged cross of Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter. And don't think for a moment about closing this book. The story is not over. It is unfolding as you read this page. Do you know your part? Do you know how it all ends? Most importantly, do you know the author and the finsiher,(Hebrews 12:2).
Merry Christmas
from
Scott, Jennifer, Sarah Anne and Grace
ROGERS
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