The Divine Crash

The New Testament book of John is one of my favorite books ever.  Called a Gospel it tells the story of Jesus from birth to resurrection.  However, John is a literary genius.  He doesn’t just write to tell one story, John tells two stories at the same time.

John connects Jesus to the creation events of Genesis.  In the story John starts by writing about Jesus as the Word who existed all the time and was God.

Then, John writes only seven miracles of Jesus.  He says at the end that there were more miracles but they wouldn’t fit in the book.  The seven miracles are all bigger than the last and the seventh miracle is the resurrection of Lazarus.  John is making this look like the Creation week in Genesis where each time God does something that have never been done before.

Then comes the eight miracle.  The Resurrection of Jesus!  If you reach the end of one week and then have the next day that is the first day of the second week.

If Weeks are how God creates things then the second week would be a new creation and the resurrection is the first day of that new week.

If John doesn’t get you yet he does one more thing,  Mary doesn’t know who she is talking too, she thinks he is the gardener.  Jesus is a Gardner?

So then, John is saying that through Jesus a brand new creation is breaking forth in the midst of this one and everyone everywhere can be a part of it!

Like I said, John is a literary genius to carefully interweave two stories into one perfect document.

The question becomes what story are you writing and what story is God writing in your story?

Is your story one of hurt, pain, neglect?  Full of poor choices and regrets?  Things that if other people know you would be so shamed you would have to move?

Your story doesn’t have to be that way.  Your story can have the story of God running through it.  God’s story is of hope, redemption, a reaffirmation that you are good and you are made in the image of God.

When God invades your story it becomes a story not in disembodied evacuation but in staying and overcoming because God has given you strength in Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit!

What is your story and can God write a different story?

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Random Thoughts by RevBT