The Bible isn't a rulebook

Oreos and Bananagram play-offs at midnight? Heck, why not. Coming home late after a day of exhausting responsibility, the sight of my roommate and a friend hunched over a very non-violent round of my favorite little word game was rather...relieving. Maybe it's okay to forget about that midterm for a bit. Hey, the guy next door even came by: Oreo joy was spreading. I was just throwing a cup of tea in the microwave when our conversation took a wild U-turn. 

 "Hey! I like that: 'The Bible isn't a rulebook'." Bam. The conversation I had been waiting for for weeks. Right now? Right now. The alphabet tiles would have to wait.   
He was reading a poster I had printed off of Facebook and plastered to my dorm-sized fridge.The simple message is something I need to be reminded of again and again: "The Bible isn't a rulebook. It's a love letter. I'm not an employee. I'm a child. It's not about my performance. It's about Jesus' on the cross." 


 I knew that this guy-next-door was not only a skeptic, but smart. Very smart, actually. (This year I live on an honors floor, thanks to my cool insider roommate.) In short, he views playing the devil's advocate as his side job. Knowing that my friend has read the entire Bible as literature, I got to the point: "So what do you think of Jesus Christ?" 

 To be honest, entering the ring of metaphysical combat with this guy felt like facing a sword with a slingshot. But I had the confidence of knowing truth, even if I didn't have all the answers. As the mantra of the movie The Great Debaters goes: "Who is your opponent? He does not exist. Why doesn't he exist? Because he is a mere dissenting voice of the truth I speak." 

 After circling Christ and His deity, the Bible, world religions for a good half hour, I can't say we got very far past "The Bible isn't a rulebook." But soon, I am hoping that we will be able to move all the way to "It's about Jesus' [performance] on the cross." 

 The more I understand the Bible, the more I see that the central theme points to Christ and His work on the cross for mankind. It's so crucial. Without it, we have no hope. In order for a sinner to be passed from "death into life" (John 5:24), they must be willing to place 100% of their faith, or confidence, in the fact that "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) His sacrifical payment for sin's penalty was enough! God doesn't need our feeble attempts at righteousness--in fact, I think it's safe to say man's attempts at earning God's favor apart from Christ are detestable to Him (Isaiah 64:6). We are saved and born into God's family by grace--unearned, undeserved kindness (Ephesians 2:8-9)!

 I am so blessed to be able to say with confidence that because of Christ's work (and only that) I am God's child, forever. Employees can be fired, but children can't. Sadly, I seem to always forget about grace when it comes to everyday life as God's child. Somehow, I can still pry myself out of bed, chug some coffee and quote the I'm-God's-employee-handbook: "I'm not talking to God about THAT problem this morning. That's all my fault. Besides, I'm crabby, and I'm sure the Boss wouldn't want to hear that." Wait a sec.

 It's pretty hard to get into breakfast too far without facing the fridge. "It's not about my performance. It's about Jesus' on the cross." Right. It's time to check out the I'm-a-child handbook: "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God...Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14a, 16) God sits on a throne of grace. It's never about what I've done or am doing. It's always about what Christ has already done.

 Oh, that game of Bananagrams we eventually got around to? I won.

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