This blog is an addition to the last post…
Since the Scripture is such a large body of work, albeit telling one grand narrative-the narrative of redemption, we do not receive the story in a unified whole, and this is only practical. Instead, we are given bits and fragments to digest. Practically speaking, devotionals, sermons and teachings can only be so long, and we can only read for so long in any given sitting. So, there is no possible way to study Scripture in full at any given time. While we must study in small sections so that we have time to digest what we are trying to understand, it is not practical to only think of our study of the Scripture in bits or fragments. Instead, we should work towards being able to place each bit or fragment we come to reflect upon into a much larger context of the one story line. When we hear a message we should ask ourselves, “Where does this fit into the grand narrative of Scripture?” By asking this question we dive to the root of the issue at hand, and we are able to better apply it to our lives that are to be modeled after God’s great story for our lives. If we are unable to answer the question of how a particular topic fits, we come to realize one of two things. Either what is being taught really does not apply to Scripture and therefore it does not apply to the Christian, or we have yet to understand the fullness of the story, which should not be discouraging in the least, but a motivator to seek more and more. The better our understanding the better we can test the words of those who teach us about Scripture, and the more framework we are able to see in light of the grand story of Scripture, the quicker we learn the importance of the tidbits we receive each time we turn to the word or hear a sermon. The quicker we learn, the quicker we realize we have so much more to learn, a beautiful cycle indeed.
