Thread: Not for Brainiacs: The Gospel according to..... ME
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Not for Brainiacs: The Gospel according to..... ME
Posted : 5 Jan, 2011 06:33 AM
I've read the entire Bible through, oh, many time One of the things I noticed was the writers do not write as you would write a novel. They often leave descriptions out, conversations out, details out. And so, in my imagination and fancy, I will sometimes "fill in" what I perceive to be missing pieces of the story. And that is the Gospel according to me. Please share your own "Gospel according to you".
My own Gospel: In Exodus chapter 14 we read about the how the Israelite people left Egypt and crossed by dry land through the Red Sea. Terrific story! Lots of drama, suspense, etc. But there were some details left out, and here is where my imagination takes over.
When I read that story, I see many hundreds of thousands of people scurrying through two walls of water. Yes -- high walls. Of water. Fantastic, don't you think? Except the people aren't paying too much attention because they are frightened and anxious and in a hurry. They are clutching their belongings and their loved ones. You can hear the creak of the wheels on the wagons as they move over the dry ground. The animals are making noises. Babies are crying. Mothers are shushing their children, scolding them to walk faster. The men are urging the animals forward. The adults are darting glances and looks into the walls of water on either side of them as they move as fast as they can to reach the other side.
And in my mind I see: a little boy, about 6 or so. He has no worries, no concerns. He does not pay attention to the pillar of fire and cloud, nor does he think about the Egyptians bearing down on them or the fact he will have to eat bread without yeast in it because there was no time to add it before they left. He is barefoot, carefree. He is delighted with the walls of water. As a child born and raised in Egypt he has never seen so much water before. Delighted with this new thing, he has his arm outstretched, fingers just touching the water, running beside it, giggling and , as his fingers get wet and make splashes. The adults call to him, scolding, trying to catch him. But he runs, , splashing; and other children immediately see the fun in that and join in with him so that soon there is a whole line of children with their arms outstretched, fingers in the water, running over the dry ground, towards the Promised Land.
Not for Brainiacs: The Gospel according to..... ME
Posted : 5 Jan, 2011 08:00 AM
At first as I read, I thought to myself, where is she going with this? Then it hit me, ahhh, the pleasant truth. I won't ruin the suprise for others, however I will say you painted a fabulous picture of Jesus's own words when he said "..........................................................................................."
Not for Brainiacs: The Gospel according to..... ME
Posted : 5 Jan, 2011 11:55 AM
These non-Biblical additions, godslamb, is what we see as the writers of movies about God's Word, such as "The Ten Commandments" allow their imaginations to "fill in" the empty spaces ... I'll have to try this with you and others here when I have some more time, K? ... and also, there are some Christian authors who have written out the Bible in novel form too ... I forget their names at the moment, but one of them is a woman author, I remember.
Not for Brainiacs: The Gospel according to..... ME
Posted : 5 Jan, 2011 01:28 PM
I like your detailed description, GL. :applause:
I am the same way and have lots of books that bring it home to me, what it was like during those moments. Abraham and Sara, John, Son of Thunder, Abigail, David and Bathsheba and more.
I would buy your books if you wrote them. :)
The best sermon I heard preached about the Red Sea and that whole scene, was my old pastor. He imitated the "last" guy running across the dry ocean bed. It was hilarious and thought provoking. :laugh:
Have you ever thought about what it looked like when all the dead saints were raised with Jesus and walked around Jerusalem for forty days? OMG!
Not for Brainiacs: The Gospel according to..... ME
Posted : 5 Jan, 2011 08:11 PM
Joeysings: Those are great! Keep 'em comin'!
How 'bout this one: 2 Kings Chapter 5
As he rode from Aram to Israel Naaman�s emotions surged first one way, then another. He had heard about the god of the Israelites. Could it be possible --- might it be that he could be cured of this accursed leprosy? No offerings or prayers to any other gods had had any effect on it. His wife , ah his wife. SHE would be happy to see the leprosy gone. She stayed with him still because he brought back plunder for her, but she was relentless once she had fastened onto the idea the little slave girl had planted in her head: he could be cured. CURED!
At last they were there. Uncharacteristically nervous (Could it really be that he was to be cured? That his skin would return to normal?) he rode to the prophet�s house. Trying to quell his irritation at the king who had moaned and groaned and quivered at the letter he had been presented, Naaman stood tall and straight, waiting for the gate to open. The man he talked to did nothing to calm his emotions. A SERVANT? The prophet sends a servant to deliver his message? To HIM! Doesn�t he KNOW it is Naaman, the valiant soldier who leads troops to victory, that is standing at his gate?
The servant, seeing his temper and having delivered his message, scurries back inside. Naaman, not caring now who hears him (Let the god of the Israelites hear him! Let the prophet!) starts striding angrily up and down past the gate, shouting, waving his arms. His men draw back and let him get his temper out. If only he could FIGHT something! Lead his men to battle! To cower outside the walls like this, to get wet in a river that is NOTHING like the mighty rivers of home, to not even SEE the prophet in person! He kicked a stone across the road.
Cautiously, his men approached. Suggesting. Encouraging. Their logic made sense, he had to admit to himself. Emotions again. Hope, fear, hope, rage, longing. His wife. He wanted to be clean again. He had come all this way. She would be so angry at him if he came back still unclean. So he went. Angrily, striding fast, shedding his cloak and sandals and helmet. Arguing with himself all the while. Fool! Once. Idiot! Twice. This will never work. Three times. I didn�t even see the prophet! Four. He knew the god of the Israelites would fail him. Five. ALL the gods have failed. Him. Six. This water is cold. Wait � what�s that? Seven. CLEAN!!!!!! I�M CLEAN!!!!
Not for Brainiacs: The Gospel according to..... ME
Posted : 6 Jan, 2011 05:41 PM
Joey: Yes, good example. Or Nehemiah yelling at the men who had married foreign women..... Or Elijah jeering the prophets on Mount Carmel..... Or Peter preaching to the crowd on Pentacost.....Paul preaching --- anytime.....sitting around a campfire in the wilderness with David as he plays and sings the new song he wrote......watching Soloman's temple being dedicated.....and there are many, many more.
, as his fingers get wet and make splashes. The adults call to him, scolding, trying to catch him. But he runs,