same story, no matter how it is told

Last night, hubby, son and me started talking.  Son had just come home from his evening shift at work and was getting something to eat.  I migrated into the kitchen to talk with him, hubby soon followed.  I asked hubby to show son a picture of someone in the family that we had recently found in attempts to declutter some of his parents' estate.  We started talking about the picture, which led to talking about more family things, how son got named, how his sister got named, etc.  During the course of the conversation, talking about this and talking about that, hubby had different takes on the same story than I did, but in the end the fact remained, we had adopted two children.  It didn't matter at the end of it that he thought events played out one way, when I thought events played out another.  They were minor and again didn't distract from the fact of our children's adoption.

In my work as a medical transcriptionist, I type up reports doctors dictate after they see a patient or operate on them. Sometimes I will type reports on the same patient from different specialists during their hospitalization. Cardiology, Pulmonary, Infectious Disease, etc. Each of the specialties are dictating on the same patient but their perspective is different, based on their expertise and what they are focusing on. One the heart, one the lungs, etc., but they are talking about the same patient.

I have thought about this before in relationship to the four gospels in the Bible, specifically in the New Testament, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each were written about when Jesus walked on this earth and his ministry here, but each were written from a different perspective.  Matthew was written to the Jewish people, tying in that Jesus was indeed the Promised Messiah. Mark was written for new believers, brief and concise stories about who Jesus was. Luke was written as an investigative account Luke undertook for his owner (he was a slave, a doctor, yet a slave) and John was written as one dearly loved by Jesus and close to Jesus with emphasis on emphasizing Jesus was indeed God and God's son. Yet each are written about Jesus though perspectives about certain events might be a bit different, yet united in a common theme written about Jesus and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Men wrote the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit. They wrote the words God wanted included written in their handwriting, written in their experience, written in their perspective. But it is the same story, no matter how it is told.

The story about a loving God, sending his son to redeem the world, to take on the wrath of his father that we should have gotten, Jesus dying for our sins, his resurrection, our hope for eternal life for those that believe in him.

The theme remains the same, no matter who told the story.

The thing we all must do is to decide how we will perceive it. How we will interpret the story. If we will accept or reject.

God laid it out. It is the truth no matter how it is told, no matter what translation.

Just read it. Just believe it. God is who he says he is. Jesus is who he says he is.

Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, the only way to the Father, the only way to heaven.

Believe it, accept it, live it.

Your life will never be the same if you do so.

I guarantee it.