The good news is as epic as it gets, with
universal theological implications, and yet the Bible tells it from the
perspective of fishermen and farmers, pregnant ladies and squirmy kids. This story about the nature of God and God’s
relationship to humanity smells like mud and manger hay and tastes like salt
and wine… It is the biggest story and the smallest story all at once – the
great quest for the One Ring and the quiet friendship of Frodo and Sam.
Indeed, in Scripture, no two people
encounter Jesus in exactly the same way.
[…] The good news is good for the whole world, certainly, but what makes
it good varies from person to person and community to community. Liberation from sin looks different for the
rich young ruler than it does for the woman caught in adultery. The good news that Jesus is the Messiah has a
different impact on John the Baptist, a Jewish prophet, than it does the
Ethiopian eunuch, a Gentile and outsider.
Salvation means one thing for Mary Magdalene, first to witness the
resurrection, and another to the thief who died next to Jesus on a cross. The gospel is like a mosaic of stories, each
one part of a larger story, yet beautiful and truthful on its own. There’s no formula, no blueprint.
--Rachel Held
Evans,
Inspired: Slaying Giants,
Walking on Water, and Loving
the Bible Again
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