We Are A People Sent By A King
/In their book, The True Story of the Whole World, Michael Goheen, and Craig Bartholomew declare, "There is nothing quite like the Bible in the whole of all religious literature in the world. It makes a startling and rather audacious claim - to be the true story of the whole world that gives meaning to human life."
“There is nothing quite like the Bible in the whole of all religious literature in the world. It makes a startling and rather audacious claim - to be the true story of the whole world that gives meaning to human life.”
This statement is even more gripping when you consider that the authors were paraphrasing a Hindu scholar's thoughts on the Bible. This begs a question though. To best understand the audacious claim that the Bible is making, we must ensure that we are clear on the central claim that the Scriptures make. Simply put, the Bible that we hold to be the authoritative Word of God boldly claims that one can be reconciled to the one Holy Creator and God of all things ONLY through trust and submission to King Jesus. I don't know about you, but I lose the spectacular nature of this statement as one who is regularly engaged in the Christian life. Yet, the core message of Christianity is exclusively dependent on one's acknowledgment of Jesus' unique nature as the Son of God. Goheen and Bartholomew further argue in their book that Christians must maintain the unity of the Biblical story of our creator God and his passionate pursuit of all peoples to glorify Jesus. Three significant highlights of this overarching story are:
God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3
Jesus' Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20
The end of all things reflected in Revelation 5 and 7
A quick summary of those highlights demonstrates that God intended to use the people of Israel (Abraham's descendants) as the heritage of a coming King through whom all the families of the world would be blessed. Christ's life, death, resurrection, and particularly his words in his commissioning in Matthew 28 assure us that he was indeed the awaited King. Fast forward to the end of the Bible in the book of Revelation. There we find the extraordinary picture of the conclusion of all time in Revelation 7:9. Every nation, all tribes and peoples and languages, will have a representative before the throne of the triumphant King Jesus. Christians belong to this story. The only true story of the whole world.
We are a people sent by a King to be a part
of his plan to bring his restoration and renewal far and wide
Consider how you can be a part of our King's mission this fall. Here are just a few suggestions:
Take part in our Xplore Missions class starting up on September 12.
Sponsor children at our designated Compassion International project in September. More details to come on in September.
Join our weekly Zoom prayer call in which we pray for our Neighbors and Nations.
Donate to our partner, For the Nations Refugee Outreach, as they seek to resettle 30 families this fall from the Afghanistan crisis.
One final encouragement. The video at the top of this post shows how Jesus' people have participated in his global mission throughout history. Our God will complete his mission.