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The Last Word
by John Bishop, Director of Spiritual Formation
The Bible is a fascinating book! But what is it exactly? Many of us struggle to rely on it because we don’t quite see how it fits into your crazy lives. Maybe this short article will help.
First, the Bible isn’t even a book, it’s 66 different books. It’s also not just one genre but it’s made up of different types of literature: historical narrative, the law, wisdom literature, psalms, prophecy, apocalyptic literature, gospel, acts of the apostles, epistles (letters). There are also different styles of writing: poetry, prose, instruction, parables, maxims, and more.
As the Bible has been handed down through the years to successive generations of people it has been translated into most languages, been evaluated, analyzed, critiqued, protected by some peoples, and ruthlessly removed by others. It has been quoted to provide some of the most valuable and important progressive movements of humanity and it has been used as a weapon in the hands of people who have caused great harm. Different traditions have slightly different arrangements of the Scriptures, but the essence of what it has to say has been essentially the same. Don’t move too quickly past this reality – through it all, the Bible has remained essentially the same.
If you pause to consider the weight of this history you have to ask, “Why is that?”
As Christians we believe the Bible contains the actual words of God to humanity.
Here’s something to consider: Genesis 1:1 a historical narrative work dealing with the origins of all things, has as its very first verse, “In the beginning, God…”. In other words, as you open the Bible you cannot get five words into the first sentence before the Bible is making it plain that everything you encounter in its pages will be about God. Who is He? How does He choose to reveal himself through human history? How does He engage with human activities ranging from slavery and genocide to government, finance, marriage and raising kids?
The Bible gives its first words to its main character, God and then if you flip all the way to the end, to the apocryphal book of Revelation, the last chapter and last verse of the Bible is Revelation 22:21 and it says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” It’s about Jesus! The second person of the trinity, being our source of salvation and hope and the only way back to God.
From beginning to end, from alpha to omega, the Bible is, and is claiming to be, the words of God Himself. Humanity cannot (and has not) ignored this truth. God will have the last word – that is not the question on the table. Instead, we need to ask ourselves, are we giving time and effort to understanding and applying His word?
We are coming to the end of the school year. The grade book and the acceptance letter to your favorite college are important parts of your academic journey, but they are not the last word. Moving out of mom and dad’s home and into your new life is not the last word. Meeting that special someone, settling down and starting a family is not the last word. Seeing your last kid off to their future life or getting art supplies for your first one who is starting PK3 next year, are memorable, powerful, and emotional experiences, but they are not the last word.
God is the last word; He will have the last word. The Scripture teaches us in Philippians 2:10-11 that, in the end, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
We are the people of God. We live by the word of God. We believe that He is there at the beginning, and He will be there at the End, so, let us be the kind of people who give him all the middle too!
Read the Bible this summer. If you don’t know where to start, consider the Gospel of John (eyewitness account of the life of Jesus – kind of like a diary), or maybe read the psalms (wisdom literature, poems, and song lyrics), or Genesis (historical narrative), or Romans (A letter from Paul to the church at Rome). Read it, not because you have to, but because God is there, and He will meet you in the middle of your life as you seek to know Him more.
Westminster Christian School, located in Palmetto Bay, Florida, is a private, college-preparatory school for children from preschool through twelfth grade.