Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Four Stories, Four Ideas

Powerful ideas are conveyed in comparatively simple stories, easily remembered and passed on. The first 11 chapters of Genesis tell four compelling tales, each with a beautiful or haunting message.

1 | Creation

The Storyline: An exquisite world is spoken into existence.
The Point: All good things begin with a sovereign, all-powerful, creative, personal provider God.

2 | The Fall

The Storyline: Humanity undergoes a catastrophic moral collapse.
The Point: God has granted the terrifying courtesy of choice. With choice comes responsibility; with responsibility comes the Divine assessment we call judgment.

3 | The Genesis Flood

The Storyline: Floodwaters sweep the world away in a disaster of devastating proportions.
The Point: There is a moral compass: the revealed heart of God. Disregard it and hellish consequences follow. Respond to it, and, even in our imperfection, we will be sustained by the kind and forgiving grace of God.

4 | The Tower of Babel
The Storyline: Humanity undertakes a futile, ambitious building enterprise and, in the process, disintegrates into confusion.
The Point: In the arrogance of human ambition, the smallness of humanity is revealed, but the grandeur of God fills the universe.

© 2005

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