Conclusion: Your Place in the Story

You have walked from a garden to a city. You have watched God make a good world, seen it break, and followed the long thread of His promise: through Abraham’s family, through the exodus and the law, through kings and prophets and exile, to a stable in Bethlehem, a cross outside Jerusalem and an empty tomb. You have seen the Spirit come and the church carry the news to the ends of the earth. And you have seen how it ends: “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).

But you have not reached the end of the story, because the story has not ended. We are living in the part between Acts and Revelation 21. The King has come and will come again. Until then, the good news is still going out, and people are still being invited in.

Where you fit

Peter wrote to ordinary Christians, many of them poor and some of them slaves, and told them who they were: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Every phrase in that verse comes from the story you have just read. Abraham’s chosen family, the priests in the tabernacle, the holy nation at Mount Sinai: Peter says that through Jesus, all of it now describes the people who trust Him, from every nation.

That is the invitation of the whole Bible. You do not have to earn your way into God’s story. Jesus has already done everything needed: He lived the life we could not live, died the death we deserved and rose again. Anyone who turns from going their own way and trusts Him is welcomed in. If you have never done that, you can do it today, honestly, in your own words. And if you do, tell a Christian you trust, so they can help you take the next steps.

Keep reading

This book has only been a map. The real thing is the Bible itself, and it is meant to be read for a lifetime. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Here is a simple way to keep going:

• Start with a Gospel. Read Mark, the shortest, a chapter a day. Then Luke, then John.
• Then the Bible’s big books. Genesis, Exodus, a handful of Psalms each week, Acts, Romans.
• Read a little, often. Ten minutes a day beats an hour once a month. Ask three questions of each passage: What does this show me about God? About people? About how I should live?
• Read with others. Find a church that teaches the Bible, and a friend or adult who will read with you and talk about it.
• Pray as you read. Ask God to help you understand, and talk to Him about what you find.

The Ochorus library can help too. The Anchored devotionals take thirty days at a time. Real Questions tackles the hardest questions people ask about the Bible. And the classics on every chapter’s “Go deeper” line were written by people who spent their lives in this book.

The Bible ends with a promise and a prayer. Jesus says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” And the church answers, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). That is where the story is heading, and you are invited to be part of it.

Father, thank You for telling the story of the world, from beginning to end, and for putting Jesus at the centre of it. Thank You that I can have a place in it, not because I deserve it but because He died and rose for me. Open my eyes as I read Your Word. Help me to trust You, follow You, and tell others the story. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.