Brooke Hill
10/22/18
Worldview Essay
The Bible is written by over 40 different authors over the span of 66 unique books. The
books all have different literary genres and styles. But they are all unified. The events all point to
Jesus coming and fulfilling all the promises of God (Joshua 21:45) and humanity being redeemed
(Ephesians 1:7). The Bible is a metanarrative that can be separated into three sections: Creation,
Fall, and Redemption. It involves all of creation, not just humans, and revolves around the
central figure of Jesus Christ. Everything points to the sacrifice that Jesus would later make for
humanity. Even the clothes that God made for Adam and Eve was symbolic of the Lamb of God
being slain to cover the sin and shame of humans. It is important to understand the narrative of
the Bible because it influences how the reader should respond. It is an entire story developed
over millennia all about God’s love and mercy for humans (Mark 6:34).
God is the creator of the universe, He was before it and He will be here after.
“Everything in creation, therefore, from the smallest and seemingly most insignificant to the
crowning work, the human being, finds its meaning and reason for existence in the relationship
between the Creator and his creation” (Vang, 2013, pg. 1). It discusses how humans were
created in God’s image and how they were to be rulers over the animals (Gen. 1:27). The
beginning is also mentioned in the New Testament as the Bible is constantly referring back to
itself (John 1:1). “God’s mission in creation is the same as it was in the beginning: to prepare a
realm and community for his Son, Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:22-26)” (Smith, 2018).
Humans were tempted and fell short of the command God gave to them, not to eat of the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:17). This was the turning point in the story, and it
turned towards redemption. Throughout the rest of the Bible, the narrative is a constant struggle
between what the people of Israel want to do and what God calls them to do. The whole thing is
a setup for when Jesus comes.
Because I understand the narrative of the Bible, the story of salvation impacts how I live.
On a daily basis, it influences the choices that I make. I attempt to exemplify Jesus in everything
that I do. My goal is to attain his presence and show his love to those around me. I can do that in
a practical way through my local church as I am a member of my worship team. It gives me the
opportunity to talk to people and exemplify Christ. People can view me as a leader and feel more
inclined to listen to what I have to say.
I understand the Biblical narrative and I know how to apply it to my worldview because
of how my parents have exemplified it in their businesses. Even though they are working in a
secular world, they exemplify Christ in how they treat their employees and how they treat their
customers and clients.
I can also exemplify my worldview through my job at Buffalo Wild Wings. The people
who work with me have very different worldviews than I do. I try to show love by not gossiping
and by being kind to everyone, no matter how rude or pointed they are to me. I also view my life
as a story that has been millennia in the making. Jesus lived and died so that I may be able to be
redeemed and live in eternity with him (John 3:16). It gives my life a meaning and purpose so
that I can worship him with what I do.
Through this understanding of the narrative, I know that all Christians are called to
spread the Gospel through all nations (Matthew 28-16-20). I am to be a light to wherever God
calls me; whether it be where I live or where I work, or both. I don’t know what I want to do
with my life just yet, but I know to trust God because He cares for all (Matthew 6:26-34). It is
something I struggle with accepting because I just want what I need to do to be written out in
plain English for me to follow. But I see through all the stories in the Bible, patience is a
necessary ingredient. God doesn’t work on my time, He isn’t constrained by time. I need to
learn, as the Israelites did, to trust God and not try to take control over my own life.
Having a good understanding of sound doctrine is important when understanding the
Biblical narrative because culture changes and the author is writing to a different setting than we
live in today (Erickson, 2015, pg. 9). Good Bible study is imperative to understand the Story. It
is important to have a firm grasp of the Biblical narrative because “establishing a Biblical
worldview is and essential component of carrying on the faith because it has implications is
every area of life” (Schultz, 2013, pg. 1).
References
Vang, P., & Carter, T. G. (2013). Telling God's Story: The Biblical Narrative from Beginning to
End.
Smith, R. L. (2018). A Place at the Table: Christian Political Engagement in a Post-Christian
Context. Evangelical Review of Theology, 42(1), 57–64.
Schultz, K. G., & Swezey, J. A. (2013). A Three-Dimensional Concept of
Worldview. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 22(3), 227–243
Erickson, Millard J., and L. Arnold. Hustad. Introducing Christian Doctrine. Baker Publishing
Group, 2015.
