The Big Story of the Bible 完整的图画
Dexu Xia
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16
When Colin opened the box of stained-glass pieces he’d purchased, instead of finding the fragments he’d ordered for a project, he discovered intact, whole windows. He sleuthed out the windows’ origin and learned they’d been removed from a church to protect them from World War II bombings. Colin marveled at the quality of work and how the “fragments” formed a beautiful picture.
If I’m honest, there are times when I open particular passages of the Bible—such as chapters containing lists of genealogies—and I don’t immediately see how they fit within the bigger picture of Scripture. Such is the case with Genesis 11—a chapter that contains a repetitive cadence of unfamiliar names and their families, such as Shem, Shelah, Eber, Nahor, and Terah (vv. 10–32). I’m often tempted to gloss over these sections and skip to a part that contains something that feels familiar and fits more easily into my “window” of understanding of the Bible’s narrative.
Since “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful” (2 Timothy 3:16), the Holy Spirit can help us better understand how a fragment fits into the whole, opening our eyes to see, for example, how Shelah is related to Abram (Genesis 11:12–26), the ancestor of David and—more importantly—Jesus (Matthew 1:2, 6, 16). He delights in surprising us with the treasure of a perfectly intact window where even the smaller parts reveal the story of God’s mission throughout the Bible.
Why is it important to recognize each portion of Scripture as a fragment of God's bigger story?
Father, please help me to see You and Your work more clearly.
Grow deeper in your understanding of the Bible.
圣经都是上帝所默示的，于教训、督责、使人归正、教导人学义都是有益的。—提摩太后书3章16节
当柯林打开他购买的一盒镶嵌玻璃组件时，看到的不是他为了某个计划所订购的零碎玻璃片，而是拼接好的整扇玻璃窗片。在他探究这些玻璃窗片的来源时，得知是从一间教堂完整地拆卸下来，以免这些窗片在二次大战期间遭到炸毁。柯林对这些玻璃窗片的精致工艺，以及“玻璃碎片”组合成的美丽图画，赞叹不已。
说实话，有时当我读到圣经的某些章节（例如家谱），总是无法立即看出这一片段怎样嵌进整部圣经的脉络。就拿创世记11章来说，似乎整章反复出现一连串陌生的名字与他们的亲属，如闪、沙拉、希伯、拿鹤以及他拉（10-32节）。我常想略过这些段落，跳到我比较熟悉的“窗户”──较能理解的圣经章节。
因为“圣经都是上帝所默示的”（提摩太后书3章16节），圣灵可以帮助我们更了解一个片段怎样嵌入整部圣经，祂能打开我们的心眼，让我们看见沙拉跟大卫的祖先亚伯兰之间的关系（创世记11章12-26节）。更重要的是，让我们看见他们与耶稣的关联（马太福音1章2、6、16节）。圣灵乐于让我们惊奇地发现一扇完美无缺的珍贵窗户，而嵌在上面的每个小片段，都在展现整本圣经所述说上帝的救赎计划。
将圣经的每个部分都看作是上帝伟大救赎计划中
的小片段，为何如此重要？
天父上帝，请帮助我从祢的话语更认识祢，
更清楚看见祢所做的工。