In geometry a circle is defined as follows: A plane curve everywhere equidistant from a given fixed point, the center. In a nutshell the Bible is based around one central thing…namely God. All the various components of scripture are inextricably bound to it’s center…namely God. The Bible has an undeniable “interwoven” quality. This isn’t always easy to see, especially when you’re making you’re way through the Bible for the first time. I remember when I hit Leviticus. When I say hit I literally mean it was like hitting a reading wall. I had flown through the New Testament (NT) because every narrative was so gripping and stirring. Genesis and most of Exodus is the same way. Then you get to...THE LAW…(dramatic pause)…DUHN DUHN DUHN! When I got about halfway through Numbers I threw my hands up and said, “Somebody shoot me…good lord it’s like reading stereo instructions!” After my little drama queen-esque moment I continued reading. The going was slow but as I got deeper and deeper into this monster we call the Old Testament (OT) something began to feel right. I wasn’t sure just what that was but I went with it thinking that eventually I would put 2 and 2 together (I was never good at math so I was a little nervous). Then somewhere in the depths of Ezekiel I was smacked in the face by God’s special edition Louisville Scriptural Slugger. I looked at my Bible and realized that I wasn’t holding some big bulky rectangular object but rather I was holding in my hands a perfect circle.
When I think of a circle I think of every part being essential to the integrity of the entire structure. Though the center may appear empty it is within that emptiness where we can comfortably place our faith because God is the center even when our eyes would attempt to convince us otherwise. Everything said and all things done within scripture cry out the name of God. It’s the same kind of goal that we all hope our own lives echo in that all we do reflects the nature of God. The Bible is a vibrantly breathing testament not only of God’s genius but His compassion as well. When we read Genesis we see humanity in its frail infancy. Our faults and our needs are starkly revealed. Yet in that beginning God made a solemn vow to His creation that he would never abandon us. This promise holds true all throughout the 1,000 page plus text that helps to teach us why and how God is the center of all things. He is the still beating heart that we hear in the essence of life.
Keeping the concept of the center in mind, think of the whole of scripture in a circular fashion. In other words, each individual part feeds into the next in a never-ending cycle. The force driving this juggernaut that is the Bible, ultimately God’s story, is the enigmatic but undeniable will of God. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about the Old Testament and the New Testament as if they were completely different animals. So I sat down and tried to define the OT and the NT in simplistic terms. The OT is, to me, the struggle between God’s will and the will of humanity. That seems to be a very, and I do mean VERY, common theme in the OT. So what’s one of the greatest lessons to be learned by studying the OT? For me that answer seems very simple: God’s way is always best. The NT is, to me, about fulfillment. In other words, God is true to His promises and He demonstrates that in Jesus. God’s passionate desire to have a relationship with us is unstoppable and the will of God, which is so well represented in Jesus, was simply unconquerable. So what’s one of the greatest lessons to be learned by the studying the NT? For me the answers seems not only simple but also familiar: God’s way is always best. Inevitably scripture has brought my mind back to God; hence I’ve read a circle back to what is important. By this rationale scripture is not individualistic within itself but rather an inseparable conglomeration of God’s ultimate plan.
The practicality of this idea for me is one of keeping my mind, heart, and soul firmly attached to what I need in order to learn the absolute most from scripture. There is not a more perfect guide amongst the heavens or the earth than God. Reading, and particularly studying, scripture can be incredibly daunting and intimidating. But I believe that God can help clear our vision when He wants us to learn something that we need to know. The problem is trust. Especially in this society, we have the idea of independence thrust upon us while in the meantime dependence is treated as something to be scoffed at. That idea now seems somewhat ridiculous to me. Our will always has the strong possibility of being flawed whereas the will of God is without even the scent of flaw. As I walk my own circle in life I try to keep eyes rigidly fixed on the center of my existence, which is God. If I can do that then seeing the road ahead becomes unnecessary because God is my eyes and my way. I need to see or know nothing else.
Great read. The greatest enemy besides the forces of darkness is oftentimes the enemy within. Jesus' message spoke to all people whether Pharisees and teachers of the Law or those people who felt his healing touch or heard his words that can cut to the innermost core of humanity.
In the "Calling of Levi" of the gospel narrative, Jesus differentiates between those whom the gospel applies to and those to whom it does not: Those who acknolwledge they need what Jesus has to offer, and those who reject his life-giving message. (All are sick and all need the spiritual doctor.) The gospel requires an unyielding amount of subordination (pun not intended) to what God is doing, which happens to be totally counter-culture here in autonomous America; it is a land "found" and fought for and built by our own hands by ourselves.
Posted by: Josh Lynch | January 20, 2005 at 05:58 PM