As I've continued my reading in Marcus Borg's 2003 book, The Heart of Christianity, I ran across a chapter on the central reality of Jesus in which Borg says, "... Christians find the ultimate disclosure of God in a person and not in a book, Jesus is more central than the Bible." This does not make the Bible a less inspiring book, but it does remind us that Christianity is relational and the focal point of Christian faith is not about following creeds or doctrines that have their foundations in the Bible, but following a person that the Bible provides witness. James Barr's 1980 book, The Scope and Authority of the Bible, says the same thing when he claims that the authority of the Holy Bible is found in its witness - and in particular the New Testament witness to what it says about Jesus Christ.
All this goes to say, "How is it with your soul in the hands of Jesus Christ today?" Have you had time to stop your busy schedule and spend a few minutes with him in prayer and Bible as you ponder his words to you in these pages of Holy Scripture? While I'm not a big fan of opening the Bible to wherever it may lay, and read that text as God's Word for me. No, I find that kind of study diminishes the value of the Bible. I do find quality time with God when I take the time each day or each week to systematically read through a book in the Bible. This way I get the context in which the stories are written and that provides a much better framework for me to use the Bible as a portal to interpret my own life stories in the context of these storied biblical backgrounds.
Enjoy your time with God today, and when you read the Bible, remember, you do not read just to gain information. You read in order that you might know the God of the Bible from whom you can gain transformation, even the salvation of your soul. Yes. . . how is it with your soul today in the hands of Jesus Christ? Read the Bible and discover what God has to say about what matters most in your personal relationship with God through Jesus?
Dennis
