I have been a fan of Louis L’Amour since I was in the eighth grade. I have read and remembered many of his books which are westerns that vividly described the Old West and the rugged terrain. In the last couple of years, I read his autobiography. In that book he made an interesting statement that I will now paraphrase from memory. He said that people often say that you only get one life. But he said that is not true. He wrote that he had lived thousands of lives and travelled to countless places in all the books that he read.
This sparked a thought in my mind that I now want to share with you. While we really do have this life, the Scripture when read and studied helps us to live the course of human history from God’s perspective. Think about this. Just in the first chapter of the Bible, the reader is transported into eternity. From a God’s eye perspective, you get to watch as the universe is created, the earth is shaped, the plants and animals are made, and mankind is created. You have a front row seat as the serpent approaches Eve to deceive her and the fall of humanity happen. You see the gracious hand of God as He brings judgement and then also makes promises of redemption.
Fast forward in the Biblical record and you get to watch Noah build the ark and then ride out the flood into a new world. You meet Abraham and see him receive the covenant from the Lord. You watch as his family grows and moves to Egypt. You get to sit in a prison with Joseph and rejoice as he is rescued and then seated in power in Egypt. The drama of reconciliation with Joseph’s brothers passes by scene by scene until that climatic moment when he says to those who sold him into slavery, “What you meant for evil, God intended for good.”
There are triumphs and defeats. Pharaoh and Egypt are decimated by one plague after another. You get to stand on the edge of the Red Sea and watch as God parts the waters. You see and hear in your mind the flashes of lightening and the peels of thunder as God descends to Mount Sinai and gives His Law to the people. You watch as they turn quickly to idolatry and then see God’s hand of judgment. You stand on the battlefield and see the stone leave David’s sling striking Goliath between the eyes. You run through deserts and over mountains as King Saul hunts for David to kill him.
These are places and times that you could not otherwise visit. But through the pages of Scripture these become our experiences shaping our thoughts and how we view the world. Thousands of lives and many more moments of redemptive history become a movie in your mind as your eyes flow over those black and white pages. And then as you finish the Old Testament, you turn a page to find the story of redemption coming to fruition as a baby is laid in a manger. That baby boy grows up and is the promised Savior of the world. All of the stories of the New Testament come alive as Jesus makes his way to the cross. You stand in the crowd as Pilate asks what he should do with Jesus. Beside you, in front of you, and behind you are those who shout, “Crucify him!”
Then on the morning of the third day, you walk with the women to what is now an empty tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. You run alongside the Apostles John and Peter heading to the tomb to find out why it is empty. There you are in the room with the frightened disciples when the now risen Lord reveals Himself to them. I have only scratched the surface of all the times, places, events, and people that you can experience in the Scripture. In this short article I do not have the space to take you into eternity as the Bible does. I challenge you. Read your Bible. It is the most interesting book in the world. Be filled with wonder and live countless lives across the ages and into eternity in those glorious pages.
Joe Tolin
Kingman Presbyterian Church
