Though my children are now
31 and 29, I can still hear echoes in my mind and heart of one of the things
they said to me over and over again: “Daddy, tell me a story.” Even at the end of a long day—sometimes
especially at the end of a long day—there was nothing better than story-time
with Amanda and Eliot. Sometimes I read
other people’s stories to them, and it was a delight to watch their eyes widen
with anticipation as we traveled through the wardrobe into Narnia, through the
looking-glass into wonderland, and out of the tornado-tossed house into
Oz. I enjoyed laughing with them over
how deliciously hungry the Cookie Monster could be and how charmingly grouchy
Oscar could be. We bounced and sang with Tigger and trudged-along and
moped with Eeyore.
31 and 29, I can still hear echoes in my mind and heart of one of the things
they said to me over and over again: “Daddy, tell me a story.” Even at the end of a long day—sometimes
especially at the end of a long day—there was nothing better than story-time
with Amanda and Eliot. Sometimes I read
other people’s stories to them, and it was a delight to watch their eyes widen
with anticipation as we traveled through the wardrobe into Narnia, through the
looking-glass into wonderland, and out of the tornado-tossed house into
Oz. I enjoyed laughing with them over
how deliciously hungry the Cookie Monster could be and how charmingly grouchy
Oscar could be. We bounced and sang with Tigger and trudged-along and
moped with Eeyore.
As much as I enjoyed
reading other people’s stories to them, my favorite thing to do was make-up
stories in which they were the hero and heroine who saved the kingdom from an
evil adversary, the adventurer who rocketed to other worlds, or the explorer
who found a long-lost utopia. Sometimes,
I made them characters in fairy tales and Bible stories.
reading other people’s stories to them, my favorite thing to do was make-up
stories in which they were the hero and heroine who saved the kingdom from an
evil adversary, the adventurer who rocketed to other worlds, or the explorer
who found a long-lost utopia. Sometimes,
I made them characters in fairy tales and Bible stories.
They went into the woods
with Little Red Riding Hood and managed to defeat the menacing wolf. They learned how to find their way home by
leaving a trail of bread crumbs with Hansel and Gretel. They became a real boy and a real girl, not a
puppet on a string, with Pinocchio.
with Little Red Riding Hood and managed to defeat the menacing wolf. They learned how to find their way home by
leaving a trail of bread crumbs with Hansel and Gretel. They became a real boy and a real girl, not a
puppet on a string, with Pinocchio.
They walked with Jesus in
fields of flowers, looked with him at the birds of the air, and heard him say
that God takes care of flowers and birds, and children, so they didn’t need to
be afraid. They shared their lunch with him so he could feed thousands. They sat on Jesus’ lap, leaned their head on
his chest, heard the heartbeat of God, and received his blessing;
fields of flowers, looked with him at the birds of the air, and heard him say
that God takes care of flowers and birds, and children, so they didn’t need to
be afraid. They shared their lunch with him so he could feed thousands. They sat on Jesus’ lap, leaned their head on
his chest, heard the heartbeat of God, and received his blessing;
And, often, I told them
about the days they were born and how much laughter and love they brought with
them when they came.
about the days they were born and how much laughter and love they brought with
them when they came.
Poet Brian Doyle wrote
. . . Maybe children are made of stories more
Than they are of bone and hair and turkey sandwiches.
Maybe the way to think of a teenager is as a wry story
That’s all verb and no object as yet. Maybe we guzzle
Forty stories with every breath we draw and they soak
Into us and flavor and thicken and spice the wild stew
We are. . . (From “Maybe the Future is a Story That Hates to Wait”)
Than they are of bone and hair and turkey sandwiches.
Maybe the way to think of a teenager is as a wry story
That’s all verb and no object as yet. Maybe we guzzle
Forty stories with every breath we draw and they soak
Into us and flavor and thicken and spice the wild stew
We are. . . (From “Maybe the Future is a Story That Hates to Wait”)
I think all of us are made
of stories. We are and we become the
stories we “guzzle with every breath we take.” And the story which makes us who we truly are
is the story of God revealed in Jesus—the story which the Bible tells and which
the Holy Spirit breathes into our breath.
of stories. We are and we become the
stories we “guzzle with every breath we take.” And the story which makes us who we truly are
is the story of God revealed in Jesus—the story which the Bible tells and which
the Holy Spirit breathes into our breath.
The story of God is a
collection of hundreds of other stories which God’s people have told each other
for thousands of years. For Christians
(people of other faiths will read the Bible differently, of course), those
stories, collected now in the library which we call the Bible, find their
center and their fulfillment in Jesus. All
the stories in the Bible either tell us about the faith which shaped Jesus, or
show us how desperately the world needs Jesus, or describe the life, teachings,
death and resurrection of Jesus, or marvel at how, against steep odds and hard
obstacles, the good news of Jesus made its way into the whole world.
collection of hundreds of other stories which God’s people have told each other
for thousands of years. For Christians
(people of other faiths will read the Bible differently, of course), those
stories, collected now in the library which we call the Bible, find their
center and their fulfillment in Jesus. All
the stories in the Bible either tell us about the faith which shaped Jesus, or
show us how desperately the world needs Jesus, or describe the life, teachings,
death and resurrection of Jesus, or marvel at how, against steep odds and hard
obstacles, the good news of Jesus made its way into the whole world.
There are other ways to read the
Bible, of course: as a literary classic; it has generated many of the master
plots and enduring imagery of Western literature. As history, but it’s not history as modern
historians practice it; the Bible’s writers mixed their memories of what
happened with the meaning of what happened.
We can read the Bible as a collection of principles, proverbs, and
aphorisms, and there is a great deal of insight about who we are and why we do
what we do; but the Bible isn’t like a series of tweets or text messages:
little snippets of inspiration, fragments of wisdom, and 140 characters worth of
motivation.
Bible, of course: as a literary classic; it has generated many of the master
plots and enduring imagery of Western literature. As history, but it’s not history as modern
historians practice it; the Bible’s writers mixed their memories of what
happened with the meaning of what happened.
We can read the Bible as a collection of principles, proverbs, and
aphorisms, and there is a great deal of insight about who we are and why we do
what we do; but the Bible isn’t like a series of tweets or text messages:
little snippets of inspiration, fragments of wisdom, and 140 characters worth of
motivation.
We ask the Bible to be a lot of
things it isn’t. The Bible isn’t a
secret code to success; it isn’t a set of
predictions about the future, and it isn’t a collection of advice columns. The Bible isn’t a book of science; it’s
interested in who and why, more than it is in what and how. The Bible isn’t an
ancient version of Wikipedia, a warehouse of facts and information, where we go
to get answers to all our questions. In
fact, the Bible raises at least as many questions as it answers.
things it isn’t. The Bible isn’t a
secret code to success; it isn’t a set of
predictions about the future, and it isn’t a collection of advice columns. The Bible isn’t a book of science; it’s
interested in who and why, more than it is in what and how. The Bible isn’t an
ancient version of Wikipedia, a warehouse of facts and information, where we go
to get answers to all our questions. In
fact, the Bible raises at least as many questions as it answers.
The Bible is the story of God
made known, made close, made audible, and made visible in Jesus. The Bible leads us to Jesus, who shares his
life with us and makes us like him.
made known, made close, made audible, and made visible in Jesus. The Bible leads us to Jesus, who shares his
life with us and makes us like him.
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