Thrive in the City by Living Into the Great StorySample

Entering into God’s Story 

Have you ever entered a movie theatre and missed the first 10 minutes or missed the ending? How would that impact your understanding of the story being told? 

Quite a bit.

Living faithfully as a follower of Jesus requires an understanding of the broader biblical narrative and an ability to use the Bible as an interpretive lens.

The overarching narrative of the Bible can be summarized into four “chapters:” Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. Running through these chapters are the Bible’s four basic plot-lines of humanity’s relationship with God, self, others, and the created order. This story of God’s kingdom provides a conceptual framework through which you can better understand and engage the world. 

If you don’t know what story you are in, how will you know your place in it?

In Genesis 1 and 2, we find the Creation chapter where humankind is in right relationship with God, with each other, within themselves, and with the created order. There is shalom, which means peace in Hebrew. American philosopher, Cornelius Plantiga defines shalom as, “...universal flourishing, wholeness and delight—a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed . . . Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.” 

In the Fall, (Genesis 3), guilt and corruption enter the relationship between God and humanity. Innocence is replaced by shame and fear. Shalom is now vandalized in all four relationships (God, ourselves, others, and the created order) and how life is experienced today.

The majority of the biblical story is how God unfolds his plan of Redemption through the people of Israel, which points to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection are the central and pivotal events concerning God’s cosmic plan for redemption. Through Jesus, the kingdom of God, which has always existed, is now accessible, in which the renewal of all things is possible.

In Restoration, all the plot-lines in the biblical narrative are resolved. Sin and death are forever done away with. The created order is healed. Humanity is restored to God, and the New Creation is established on earth as it is in heaven. 

The Creation and Restoration chapters shed light on God’s purpose for humanity in the here and now. The Fall and Redemption chapters demonstrate the good news; that the kingdom of God is at hand, and it is accessible to all.

Take a moment with God.

Reflect on the narrative of the Bible you had growing up. 

What “chapters” were emphasized?

How might this influence how you interpret the scope of the gospel?

Which of your relationships need shalom?