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I’m sure many of you have heard of the One Year Bible. There are a couple of versions in which you can read this bible… One, through the physical written version of this Bible that reorganizes the books and chapters in a sequence that will help you to achieve this feat in one year… – Or – You can do use the electronic version of the One Year Bible on the Bible.com app that does the same as the written. I, in general, prefer electronic reading, but traveling around the world with my life on the back has made it even more important to condense as much as possible. That being said, I am reading the electronic version of the One Year Bible through the Bible.com app (the one that has a brown Holy Bible icon when you download it).
During one of our team times in Thailand my teammate, Ethan, shared a resource with us.
First, let me tell you a little about Ethan. From the beginning, I have given Ethan the superhero name “The Unexpected Element”. I’m not sure that most people would think of that statement as an awesome superhero name, but I assure you it is. First and foremost, let me say that I don’t believe in superheroes. Instead, I believe in people living in true form that God has created for them. When they live that way, they seem to be set apart, to be sanctified, to be special. Ethan is set apart in a way that he is mysterious, he is unknown. In the beginning, it seemed as though he avoided having an opinion, avoided most interactions, and didn’t invest or care to invest in anything what-so-ever. BUT as you spend time getting to know him and his story, you find that the truth is that Ethan has a pure soul. He is not tainted and therefore he’s not in his head making snap and incorrect judgments about persons, places, or things. He is not bogged down and is curious about a lot of things. Ethan likes to learn, likes to question, likes to understand. Ethan is observant and intellectual. Ethan also hates to sit for too long, hates to over complicate things, and loves to be a dude’s dude by playing and following any and every sport in between random songs that he inaudibly sings and dances to. Believe me when I say, when you meet Ethan you would never expect many of these things, hence his name “The Unexpected Element”.
Team time is an opportunity for each teammate to be in their element and share the parts of that element with the rest of us so that we can get to know that person better.
Back to the story of Ethan’s team time…. For Ethan’s team time, he shared a resource called the Bible Project. It’s a series of videos that you can download from their website or from Youtube that explain the Bible in the simplest way possible. The episodes range in length, but most are about 10 minutes in length; 10 very profound minutes!
I am on Day 245 of 365 in my One Year Bible reading plan. Yesterday I finished the book of Job and I remembered the resource that Ethan shared about the understanding and studying the bible, the Bible Project. I have heard sermons on this book, but I have never seen this book overviewed in such a simple and profound way.
Job is a popular book in the Bible because it talks about suffering. Suffering is a common part of life for every person so many turn to this book for a sense of comfort when they are suffering. The common theme I have heard is to persevere through the suffering, trust that God has a plan and that we will be rewarded for our perseverance. After reading the whole book of Job I decided to review the videos on Job to get their perspective.
Video 1 – Read Scripture Series: Job
This first video teaches us how to read and understand the structure and themes within the book of Job.
Job goes through a lot of the feels that we go through as we are proceeding through trials. So there are a couple things to take away from how Job responds to God’s response to his situation. First, Job realizes that his perspective is not and will never be big enough to tell God what is just, and therefore he is humbled by that fact. He retracts and repents and God edifies Job by stating again that Job has spoken correctly about God and that Job’s friends were wrong. Job is honored as a righteous man. God honors Job’s struggle, his honesty, and his prayer. Job openly took his questions, concerns, and comments directly to God about all that is going on. THIS IS THE RIGHT WAY TO PROCESS ALL THAT WE GO THROUGH. Not asking why, but talking to God himself through prayer and trusting His wisdom. “This book invites us to trust God’s wisdom when we do go through suffering rather than try to figure out the reasons. When we search for reasons we tend to either simplify God-like friends or like Job accuse God based on limited evidence. The book is inviting us to honestly bring our grief and our pain to God and to trust that God actually cares and knows what He is doing”.
If the first video wasn’t enough for you, this video is literally a cartoon of the story.
Video 2 – The Animated Visualization of the story
The first thing we notice is that the Bible is connected and has themes that are linked and reviewed through other books in the Bible. I can’t wait to now read through and study Proverbs and Ecclesiastes in a different light.
Next, we get into Job’s story. And when we get to the part about Job’s friends, I personally realize the reason for the church. Unfortunately, most times when someone is going through something “our friends” want to help us talk through it. But just as in Job’s story, no one has an answer of the why. Does God ever answer why? I honestly don’t think He does. Instead, He says I will be with you. I wish that Job’s friends did less talking and actually went to Job to be the hands and the feet of Jesus by helping Him and walking with Him as He was down and were the voice that reminded him to take his concerns to God. But I guess that wasn’t the point of the story… Instead, the friends are probably a part of the trial. But Job has a strength, a strength that I would imagine he never knew he had, yet he is on an emotional roller coaster wondering how to grasp all that is going on. I love that God sticks with Job regardless of this and comes to speak to Job directly to answer Job’s question. I’m sure it’s not the answer that Job wants, but essentially God says that “I am God. You are NOT God. And to be honest, you can’t even begin to grasp what it is to be God. So as much as you want an answer instead I will show you why you don’t need an answer. You don’t need an answer because you don’t want the job of being God, so instead TRUST that I AM God, that I am good, and that the complex web of justice is managed by my infinite wisdom. Trust in my infinite wisdom.”
As I said, I am not reading this book as comfort for a trial. I actually read this book because that is where I am in my One Year Bible reading plan, but I decided to share this for a couple of reasons.
I am reading the Bible because every day I want to know God more and more. I get to know Him more and more by reading His word. And not just reading it once, but over and over and over again because each time I learn something different about Him.
In being in the community of Christ many people concentrate on the things that are wrong or sinful about the body of Christ. I would encourage anyone that keeps the body of Christ at arm’s length because they have been hurt or wronged, that they let down their guard and realize that body of Christ is made up of sinful people who are trying to get closer to God as well. There is an infinite web of complexity that makes up justice and sometimes the answer is just not that simple. So have grace and be a light in the midst of not only the darkness but also in the midst of dim light. See the beauty in our community.
Thank you Ethan for being a light of Christ even amongst lights and sharing a resource that helps me and so many others understand God more and more. You build up the body of Christ by being an active, and healthy, part of the Body of Christ. Thank you.
I hope you like the resources and check them out!
