It has been a long haul, hasn’t it? When we embarked on this journey through the Bible last January how many of us really thought about the length of time it would take us to read through the Old Testament? I know I didn’t. And I never dreamed how challenging some of the reading would be. Honestly, I think it will take some time to digest several of these stories of our faith and find an appropriate place for them in my faith story. I think that’s a good thing. God created us as thinking, questioning and creative creatures. I hope to honor that legacy by working hard at understanding who God is and what God is trying to teach me when I encounter a redeeming Creator who seems neither redemptive nor creative.
But that is for the days and months to come. Now we have arrived. We are into the New Testament. We are counting on the familiar, the predictable, the comfortable – for names we can pronounce and stories we remember and want to retell. Who among us can’t wait to read the wonderful stories of Jesus’ birth and ministry, or the wildly unlikely and successful ministry of the disciples as they began the early church? Paul has words of advice and caution to offer new disciples and growing churches. James keeps us grounded in a life of active faith, while John helps us to see the possibilities, challenges, and promises of God’s redemptive work coming to final fulfillment in the New Jerusalem.
We are going to enjoy reading this! No more confusing visions or un-Godlike demands. Don’t be too sure or get too comfortable. I caution us to keep thinking and questioning. God has a way of surprising us when we least expect it. I wonder what new insights we will gain on our way through the New Testament? I suspect that we will uncover an important truth along the way - That God is the same in Canaan as in Corinth, in Edom as in Ephesus, in Goshen as in Galilee. I hope I am ready to encounter anew God’s living Word.
Keep reading! - Rev. Debby Fox, Pastor of Christian Education and Discipleship
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