This is the final installment for now on storytelling and scripture. In this series, I have mainly looked at point-of-view and characters to see where stories come from.

In the end, let me say this a story arises from the people in it, the characters. We learn the story from their point of view by learning who they are, what they’ve been through, what they care about, the choices they make, the way they react to what happens to them.

And, if I am right (no guarantee’s there) and the two main character’s of scripture are God (protagonist)* and death (antagonist) then what story arises from their interaction? But what is interesting in the story is that God and death do not primarily battle each other, but interact with a third main character – humanity.

The central role of humanity in the story has led many to read humanity as the main character in scripture. It is all about humanity and how we become better people, but is this the story of scripture? I do not think so, humanity is obviously a main character, but to read scripture from the point-of-view of humanity distorts the story scripture is telling.

Scripture is revealing God — who he is, what he has done, what he cares about, the choices he has made, and the way he has reacted to death’s entrance into his creation.

I am not going to take the time to look at each of these questions, but we get a glance at them by answering the last one – How has God reacted to death’s entrance into his creation?

God desires to be in relationship with humanity but death causes the relationship to rupture. But God continues to pursue her in his steadfast love and faithfulness, ultimately sending his Son to die on the cross to reconcile the the ruptured relationship. Now he invites all to enter through the blood of his Son into a right relationship with him.

This is the story, I think scripture is trying to tell! And we get it when we read the right characters as central and from a right point-of-view.

Holy Spirit teach us to read scripture rightly, and to incorporate what we learn into our lives readily. Amen.

*There is a big discussion to have here that I have left alone – Is scripture Theocentric, Christo-centric, Pneuma-centric, Trinitarian or some mix? I lean towards it being Christocentric, but believe it is also proto-Trinitarian.