Narrative theology

Before time as we know it; God existed. He was and always will be in a communal relationship with himself – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At some point God created all things and they were good. When He created us as humans in some mysterious way he imparted His image into us – to be creative and to live in community with Him, with ourselves and with one another. We were to care for all that He had created. The enemy was also there at the beginning and he tempted the first humans and they turned away from the intimate relationship they had with God. This was the start of a story that continues to this day. The darkness from that act spread and affected not just our relationship with God, but with others and with the whole of creation.

God did not leave His creation to spiral downwards but planned and promised that He would restore it – someday the whole of creation would once again return to a harmonious relationship with its maker. First, He chose a people, the descendents of a man named Abraham to take His message to the entire world. He promised to bless them so that they could bless all the nations of the world. When they became enslaved and called out to Him, He heard their cry, liberated them from their oppressors and reiterated His calling upon them to be His representatives of blessing and justice to the world, calling people to turn back to their maker.

God brought His people to what they called the ‘Promised Land’. Their blessing was not for them alone, but that they would bring that blessing to the all nations. He charged them with that mission. Sadly they soon forgot and so even within the people who called themselves ‘Gods people’ they overlooked the poor and mistreated the foreigners. God sent individuals with His message, calling them to turn back, reminding them of their calling and pointing out how they were failing the oppressed and marginalised. These people made known God’s heart for the poor and He still weeps for the poor even today.

But the world went three ways – some ignored God, some built rules in an attempt to appease God and a very small remnant, though forgetting much of their calling, still lived in community with Him. While in exile from the Promised Land this remnant looked forward and clung to the hope that God would again reign and peace and justice would prevail.

Over the years, within those who were called the ‘people of God’ the rules increased and they became a burden to the people. There was a time, for many hundreds of years, while it seemed God was silent. The silence was broken by the arrival of the Messiah, called Jesus. He was like no other man before Him as he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin – He was mysteriously God in flesh.

This was the start of something new in the Kingdom of God, the start of the restoration. God appearing in flesh and what He said was an offense to those who had turned away and to those who liked to build rules for religion. Jesus proclaimed good news to the poor, to bind up the broken-hearted and to release the captives. His way was not attractive to those who loved power or wealth and oppressed others. His way was the path of suffering to death, burial and resurrection. His claim to be the way, the truth and the life points us to the only hope for peace and reconciliation between God and humans. Through Jesus we have been forgiven and brought into a right relationship with God.

When He returned to the Father, Jesus called us to follow Him and those who did so are called the ‘children of God’. We were commissioned to take His message, unchanged since Abraham, to the whole world. The message is that God loves His creation and longs for an intimate relationship with us. But this time it was different: Jesus had overcome the enemy and He poured out His Spirit on all those who trust Him. This Holy Spirit dwells inside us and empowers us with gifts. He convicts, guides, comforts, counsels and leads us into truth.

Jesus called His people to live in community, that the world would see Him by their love for each other and those around them. That community is both a global and local expression of living the way of Jesus through love, peace, sacrifice and healing – bringing the unchanging message of God to a broken world.

There is an end to the story – a day with Jesus will come back and separate people into two groups, those who will live in community with God and those who will be separated from Him. At that time all things will be restored to God’s original plan and He will dwell with us here in a restored creation. Peace and justice will touch every aspect of creation, death will be no more and God will wipe away our tears. Our relationship with God and with creation will be made whole again. This future hope is something for celebration now.

The authoritative version of this story is written in what we call the Bible. It’s a series of books whose authors were inspired by God to record His dealing with mankind over the centuries. But those books are not history but His story, as a narrative they speak to all generations as the Spirit of God brings them alive.

Although we know the end, we are not there yet and the story is till being written in the hearts and minds of people everywhere. Even today the world goes three ways – some ignoring God, some building rules in an attempt to appease God and a remnant longing and hoping for the time when the end will come. A longing and hope for wholeness, peace and justice. Till that time we, of the remnant, are giving our lives to living out that future reality now.

[This writing was inspired by reading Mars Hill Narrative Theology, to which it has some similarities. I am writing a whole book entitled 'In the image of a creative God...' where I address the whole issue of narrative and story telling as a method of communicating truth. I have been thinking a lot about creedal statements recently - especially as I see churches overloading their membership with beliefs that the early disciples never thought critical enough, or were sufficiently ambiguous to interpretation, to not include in the Apostles Creed.]