"Read me—not a sermon chapter, but a story chapter; they've pictures in them, which I see when my eyes are shut. Read about the New Heavens, and the New Earth; and m'appen I'll forget this."
'Bessie Higgins' in North and South
You have probably realized by now that I love a good story! And North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell is one of my favorites.
What sets it far above books such as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice or Emma and even Gaskell's own Cranford and Wives and Daughters (which are all enjoyable stories) is the undercurrent of true faith in God, even if not frequently mentioned.
Even Jesus the Christ frequently used stories [parables] to teach in a way His hearers could absorb and apply to their own lives.
But the above quote goes beyond simply a good work of fiction to the best stories of all: those collected in the Bible.
What makes them "the best"? Because they are True - from the history in Genesis to the prophecy in Revelation! Rather than calling them Bible "stories," a more fitting word is "accounts."
The fictional and endearing 'Bessie Higgins' was chronically ill and stuck in bed with the constant pressures of physical pain and emotional stress when she asked the main character, Margaret, to read to her from the book of Revelation.
Through my own years of chronic illness I can fully understand how much more readily a weak brain and weary spirit can absorb truth from a story than from a sermon or epistle.
And so, as mentioned in a recent post, I am back in the book of Genesis - learning from our earliest ancestors as well as later heroes from among God's chosen people.
And all along, I'll be finding signposts pointing to the greatest story/history of all: the gospel [good news] of Jesus.
What parts of the Bible keep drawing you back the most?
Public Domain Illustrations:
Frontispiece from North and South
Hubert and Jan van Eyck, Adoration of the Lamb from the Ghent Altarpiece
Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Woodcut for "Die Bibel in Bildern", 1860.
Unknown Artist, Joseph makes himself known to his brethren
According to Papias the "first" gospel was the eye witnesses who would sometimes be present in gatherings he attended. Luke relied on eye witnesses like Mary (the first two chapters of his gospel) and others he no doubt interviewed while he waited two years for Paul in prison. It makes the gospel of Luke a new favorite. Also John chapters 14,15,16 and 17..of course.
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