The Power of a Story

Those unfamiliar with the Christian Scriptures often think the Bible is full of rules and regulations. They expect to find in it a series of propositions and imperatives. However, the truth is the most common type of literature in the Bible is narrative. As Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart write, "Narratives are stories--purposeful stories retelling the historical events of the past that are intended to give meaning and direction for a given people in the present" (How To Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 90). As stories the narrative type of biblical text can capture the imagination as the plot unfolds. Readers can identify with characters. Indeed, like all stories biblical narratives have the same features of a narrator, scenes, characters, a plot, and dialogue. However as Fee and Stuart note, "A crucial difference between biblical narratives and all others...[is they are] inspired by the Holy Spirit...[and] the story they tell is not so much our story as it is God's story–and it becomes ours as he 'writes' us into it (90)."


Narratives are particularly common in the Old Testament. In fact, over 40 percent of the Old Testament is narrative. Numerous Old Testament books are largely or completely narrative. Among them is the compelling book of Ruth. Ruth is a wonderfully crafted narrative that is full of irony, realistic characters, a dramatic act of redemption, and a surprise ending. I am excited about presenting Ruth as a message series to our church (FBC, Lake Wales) in February. I will present a chapter each week since each chapter is essentially a scene unto itself. I will read it with comments of application along the way to make this ancient story relevant to your life. There are many life-changing truths to highlight as we follow the engaging narrative. I hope you will come eager to learn from the Spirit and Living Word of God. You might even consider inviting someone you know who enjoys a good story. For Ruth is that--and so much more!

Loving the Lord & His written revelation!
Pastor Scott