Being Transparent…

I posted this blog about 10 months ago. I’m not sure why, but I really believe God told me to post it again. Again, not sure why, but here it is. Being Transparent…

“The Book of God”-A review

I just finished reading “The Book of God” by Walter Wangerin Jr. My son and I were walking through the book store, and he picked it up and said, “Look Dad, this book looks cool.” He had no idea what he was talking about, or what the book was about, he’s six, but he was right. The book did look cool. If you don’t know, “The Book of God” is the Bible as a novel. It is advertised as, “The Bible as a single powerful story”. Honestly, I already thought that is what the Bible was, but nevertheless, the title, and the idea sparked my curiosity so I bought it.

I’ve never done a book review before, but I thought it would be a good idea to start posting some stuff on things that I’m reading. First, it will help to inform others, and second, it will help me to reflect on what I’ve read. So here goes.

Initially, I was very unimpressed with the book. It seemed as if the author was merely paraphrasing the Bible, and not really doing much else. He gave physical descriptions of the people, but I didn’t think he went far enough, if this was the Bible as a novel, I thought he should explore emotions, and what might have been going on in the minds of the people a little more. Granted it would be conjecture, and it would be what he(Wangerin) thought might have been going on in their minds, as God interjected in their lives, but I thought it would be interesting, and it would help the reader perhaps identify a little more with those folks they have read about in Scripture.

As the story progressed, Wangerin did go a little more into the feelings and emotions of those he was writing about. He really picked it up as Samuel, Saul, and David came into the story. This is where I began to enjoy the book much more. He gave interesting perspectives and glimpses into what it might have been like to walk in these men’s shoes, or even to have been an onlooker of these events as they transpired. He continued very well through the prophets, and into the New Testament.

I must say though, as much as I was hoping for the author to take some creative license with the Old Testament, and the Patriarchs and Prophets, I would have preferred him to take a little less liberty, and use a little less imagination in the New Testament. In the New Testament I feel he goes a little far in imagining why Judas might have betrayed Jesus, why the crowd might have requested the release of Barrabas over Jesus of Nazareth, and there are a few other instances. I understand this was meant to be a novel, but I still feel he should have stayed a little closer to the text, and what I believe to be the facts laid out for us in the Bible. There are also a few instances where I believe he took some of the events out of sequence…but for the most part he did a decent job of accurately portraying the teachings of Jesus, and the events of His life.

Overall I would say Walter Wangerin did a good job with this book. I did enjoy reading it. I simply wish that he had stayed a little closer to the facts as written in the Bible, but did a little more exploration into the minds and emotions of the people of the Bible. I would recommend this book to folks that have a good knowledge of Scripture, and who were able to separate what is Scriptural and what is not. I would be hesitant to recommend it to someone who is not really familiar with the Bible. Just my opinion. Again though, I do respect what the author did, and overall it is a decent read.

For me personally, the best thing I got out of the book was that in a lot of ways, he did give the people personalities, and helped me to see afresh that the people of the Bible were real people, who had real emotions, real families, and real problems. Sometimes we tend to look at the Bible as just a set of lessons for us to learn, almost like a text book. This attitude I believe stifles Spiritual growth and makes the Bible too wooden and hard to read. I think after reading Wangerin’s work, I will read the Bible somewhat differently, and maybe even get more out of it.

So overall, the book wasn’t perfect, wasn’t great, but it was good. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to people with the advice to understand that it isn’t Scripture, and it is in many ways a work of fiction. That being said, it might just make you see Scripture in a fresh way, and reignite a hunger and a thirst for God. That isn’t ever a bad thing. If I had to rate “The Book of God” on a scale of 1-10, I’d say it’s a 6.5.

Blessings…

Purchased for a purpose…

I mentioned in one of my recent blogs, “Post with a purpose” that there would be another related post coming soon. I had hoped to write this sooner, but as often happens in my life, it took a little longer than expected. Either way, here it is…

I wrote in my former blog about how all things, including people are created with a purpose in mind, by a creator, to serve their creator’s purposes. I also wrote of what happens when those things and people do not serve the purposes that they are created for. I don’t feel the need to go too deep into those points in this post, so please visit my former post if you want to read further.

In the same way that we as created beings were created with a particular purpose in mind, we also who have been saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, have been purchased with a certain purpose in mind. To some that may be an odd choice of words, “purchased”, but that is precisely how the Apostle Paul viewed it. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Paul here is making the two points that I want to make in this post. One, that we are not our own, we have been bought with the blood of Christ. Two, we were purchased by Christ, for the purpose of glorifying God.

This is a tough concept for many to swallow, even Christians. But the fact is that we are never truly our own. Our world doesn’t like this fact, but it is true. We all like to feel like we are in control, doing our own thing, making ourselves happy, and we really don’t like to answer to anyone. This was the sin that caused the undoing of our first parents, Adam and Eve, and sadly we continue to repeat it daily. The Bible gives us, or at least it is for me, a startling revelation about what we are truly doing when we are following after our own desires and not the desires of God, our creator. Read Ephesians 2. In Verses 1-3, Paul tells us that when we are following after the passions of this world, and the desires of our bodies, and the passions of our flesh, we are really serving Satan (the prince of the power of the air). Think about what he is saying here. When we are not serving God, when we are not serving Christ, we are really serving Satan. Paul refers to those not serving God as “sons of disobedience” and “children of wrath”. Very simply put, you either belong to Christ, or you belong to Satan. There really is no in between.

Thank God Ephesians doesn’t end there, and it goes on to tell us that God is rich in mercy, and loved us, and sent Christ to save us. We have now been reconciled to God, and are now part of His household. What a glorious promise…I encourage everyone to read through Ephesians 2.

So now let me attempt to sum up as quickly as possible, and take a look at a few more bits of Scripture. We as created beings were created with a purpose, to Glorify God. Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve (See Genesis 3) and many since that time, have tried to serve themselves, while in reality they are really serving Satan (Ephesians 2:2). By the grace of God however, we as Christians have been reconciled to Himself, through His Son Jesus Christ. We have been bought at a price, the very blood of Jesus, in order that we might glorify God. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

A couple more passages of Scripture come to my mind as I reflect on what I’ve read and what I’ve written. Read Romans 12. Paul starts off the Chapter with these words, “I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” He goes on in the rest of Romans 12, to show us how that works itself out in our lives. A must read for all who claim the name of Christ.

Another passage that comes to mind is 2 Corinthians 5:15, “and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” Christ died so that we would no longer live for ourselves, or as Ephesians 2 explains further, for Satan, but so that we would live for Him (Christ), the one who died for us, and who was raised from the dead.

I’m going to end here, but think of how Paul, and the other Apostles viewed themselves. Paul in his letters constantly referred to himself as a slave, or a bondservant of Christ. You will find similar language from the other Apostles such as Peter and James as well. They knew whom they belonged to…I hope now, no I pray now, that perhaps, I and you the reader will have a more accurate picture of who we belong to as well. More than anything if we are Christians, if we belong to Christ, I pray that we will live like it. If there is one out there reading this, and they are seeking to serve themselves, and are on that path to destruction while serving Satan, I pray they might seek the grace of God, that he has offered through Christ, and turn to Him right now, and become His child.

God bless.