Okay so who of you loves movies? I do! I love going to theaters, eating popcorn and getting completely caught up in the story. I also love curling up on the couch and watching a classic. My family loves the Sound of Music. It’s an oldie but a goodie. But every time we watch it we fast forward through all the credits at the beginning to get to the actual film. Normal. We didn’t sit down to watch the credits. (That’s what IMDB if for, amiright?) That would be pretty pointless, even if you know all the people who were involved in making the movie. Rogers and Hammerstein, well that’s a pretty good clue it’s going to be a musical. Julie Roberts, probably going to have some incredible singing and a fun quirky leading lady. You get the point… Nowadays the credits are at the end and people leave before they even start rolling. You might stay if you’re hoping for an additional scene or some bloopers.
We read the Bible like we watch movies. We skip the credits. We only want to stay for the main story. But here’s the catch, the credits give the story its context and thus its power. Recently Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar for his performance in The Revenant. I was watching an interview he did about the scene where he ate a bison liver. He is a vegetarian (apparently) but decided that the gelatinous prop liver they had created for him to eat instead of the real thing just didn’t look real. So he went method and decided to take a chunk out of the genuine article. The regurgitation captured on film wasn’t acting… Knowing the context of just that scene gives it way more meaning.
If we only read the gospels we miss so so much of what the Lord intended the Bible for. The old testament is like the pre-film credits from older movies. If we skip it we won’t get the COMPLETE story.
Similarly, if you only listen the the commentators of a football game, you can get a pretty good idea of the action, but it would be better to actually be AT the game, right? The commentators have good insight and know a lot about the game, the players, the coaches etc. but they can’t convey they whole experience of the atmosphere. That is what you’re doing if you spend all your time in the letters of the new testament. STOP IT! Go to the game! Better yet, go to a meet and greet! Get to know the players. Analyze the play callers. Learn the careers of the offensive and defensive coordinators. Meet the founders of the leagues. Again, you get the point… Take the time…no…INVEST the time to read about the founders of our faith. It will make the story of Jesus that much more scandalous and powerful. The Bible is a juicy, scandalous book!! There’s murder, romance, lots of good and terrible kings, rags to riches, a donkey talks at one point, a man gets thrown into the bottom of a cistern to die by drowning in mud, Y’ALL, R E A D I T!!!!!
Okay, yeah, there is a lot of the Bible that is not all sling shots, giants and drowning chariots, but it’s in there for a reason so trust the Lord with that. His word does not return void. He didn’t say “the new testament doesn’t return void.”
Sunday morning we read about the Centurion who had a faith that made even Jesus surprised. Now THAT’S faith. We don’t know his name. He’s like camera man 2 in the credits. The one who was willing to freeze hit butt off too in order to get the best shot of Leo.
When you start to invest your time to get the know the characters and credits of Jesus’s story you will start to see the incredible authorship of our God. You will being to see more intimately all the ways he has been writing your story. You know that saying, “there’s nothing new under the sun” well that doesn’t apply to God. Every single story is entirely unique. Every one is different, beautiful and proclaims his glory.
