HisStory

"In the  Beginning, God created..." (Gen 1:1).  The Bible begins with the story of God bringing the world into existence and ends in the Book of Revelaton with Him bringing Creation to a close.  In between the story includes His interaction with man and His call upon our lives.  The Bible, through and through, is His Story, in fact, that is what history is: HisStory.

We tend to think of the history of the world as Our Story, the story of how man evolved through the annals of time, overcoming, achieving, developing into a superior creature that has carved out the landscape, tamed the seas and even ventured into space.  We humans see ourselves as the main actors on the stage of life and, in particular, each one of us tends to see our very own self as the star of this epic movie - the one occupying center stage.

It's even difficult to imagine a world without me, isn't it?  Oh, of course you could imagine it without me, you're having trouble conceiving of a narrative without you.  While it may be difficult to see how the story evolves without your supporting cast, as long as you were still in it, you can visualize the saga continuing - sort of like Will Smith in the 2007 blockbuster, "I Am Legend."

Even Christians have a sense that self is the center of the earth epic.  Although we acknowledge God's part in it, we muse less over what God's part is deferring to our role.  I cannot begin to tell you how many times I've heard people say, "God has a plan for me" or "I wonder what God's plan is for me?"  It's kind of like the universe was created around their existence, that theirs is a starring role in the screen play of life.

I hate to burst your bubble but, you are not the main character.  Life is not really your story.  History is His Story and God's plan of redemption is being worked out in history.  Both you and I are invited to be a part of God's plan, to serve Him and minister to one another, but it is not about you, it is not about me, it is about God.

And here's the deal: If we don't come to understand God, we don't come to understand the world and what it's all about.  A history of the world without His Story, is one of everything coming from nothing, evolving without rhyme or reason or direction, going nowhere by random, witless acts of that just somehow work themselves into something that appears to have been ordered but really is one grand  accident coming out of nowhere, with no power and no mass that exploded and brought everything into being held together by the laws (?) of physics.  Really?  Rules with no Ruler?

The reality is that "since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..." (Rom 1:20).  As much as from the Bible we can hear His Story, we can see His Story in the ordered universe around us.

From before the beginning, God is and we can know His Story, which includes us if  we truly desire it for if "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you" (Jer 29:13-14).  Jus' Say'n.